Now what?  After reviewing a stack of resumes, phone screenings, multiple interviews and reference checks, I have hired the best person out there for the job.   What’s next?

I could do nothing, roll the dice and hope my new hire reaches the potential I see in them.  Or I could eliminate chance and put the odds in my favor.

Put The Odds In Your Favor

The Killing of Enthusiasm and Potential

Why would I spend an incredible amount of time and money hiring the best possible person and then not insure her success by paying close attention to what happens to her in the first few months on my team?

Good question!  But, I have done it.  I gambled and left a new hire alone or to someone else.  Six months later, I found myself wondering what happened to the enthusiastic, high potential person I hired.

As a result, I have to coach their bad habits, bad attitudes or bad performance.  I am unhappy and so are they.  Did they disappoint me or did I disappoint them?

If I truly hired an enthusiastic, high potential person, then I am the one who killed their enthusiasm and potential.  I am to blame!

Warning!  Quiz coming…

Multiple Choice:  (Hey it is better than fill in the blank)

What is the best way to onboard a new hire to insure their success?

  1. Have HR run her through the policies and procedures manual.
  2. Assign someone to train her and go back to my work.
  3. Send her away for training and speak to her when she gets back.
  4. Spend the first day with her and then let her figure it out.
  5. All of the above.
  6. None of the above.

Sorry, this was a trick question. None of those tactics are sufficient by themselves.  I have seen them used frequently and watched new hires falter badly as a result.

Quiz #2:  Who is to blame?  Answer:  The hiring supervisor.

The Onboarding Process

If I were in Las Vegas and could improve my odds at the tables to the point it was no longer gambling, why wouldn’t I do it?

That is what a good onboarding system did for me.  It did not eliminate the possibility of someone failing after I hired them, but it did eliminate the feeling that I was gambling.  My success rate soared.

5 Keys To A Good Start For A New Hire

Let’s call our new hire Beth:

1.  Time Well Spent

Time is the #1 factor in the success of a new hire.  I truly believe the more time I spend with Beth, up front, the less time I need to spend with her later.   She won’t need me as much.  She will become self-sufficient and confident.  This is what we both want!

The time I spend with Beth will be frequent and focused for the first few weeks, but will diminish as the weeks pass.  I will schedule our time together over the first 90 days, and have a specific goal for each meeting.

2.  Cultural Indoctrination

Beth needs to know who I am and what is important to me.  She also needs to know what our team values are.  How do we operate on a regular basis?  What can she expect from me and what do I expect of her?

A great resource that Ken Blanchard’s group has is the Leadership Point Of View.  It does a great job of helping leaders organize these important elements into a concise and effective message.

3.  Highly Directive Coaching

Another Ken Blanchard classic is called Situational Leadership.  Suffice it to say, Beth is an enthusiastic beginner.  She doesn’t know what she doesn’t know. But man is she ready to do it!

These people need and deserve a lot of direction up front.  That direction includes follow-up from me and a lot of coaching.  The more direction early on, the less Beth will need it later.  I learned it from Blanchard in theory, but I saw it work in practice over and over again.

4.  Mentor

Choosing a mentor for Beth is a huge decision.  I want a peer leader and a peer coach for her.  That person needs to be aligned with the cultural elements of our team and willing to spend the time needed with Beth.

The relationship starts with Beth shadowing her peer mentor to see what good looks like.  Then they progress to the mentor working with Beth in her own area.  It is coaching without the stress because it comes from a peer.  It also gives Beth an instant friend/ally on the team.  She is not on an island.

5.  Short Term Goals

Over the next 90 days, what are the top 3-4 priorities for Beth to accomplish?  She needs focus.  I want her to have early success that has impact on our team we can all celebrate.

Each goal can be accomplished in 90 days and will put her on the path to long term success.  Our scheduled meetings always include a review and update of her progress on these goals.

The more intentional I was with the onboarding process, the sooner the new hires had impact and the quicker they felt part of the team.  As a result, I had lower turnover and the high potential people I hired became the highly productive veterans every leader wants.

The Bottom Line:

I realized after a few years that I was leaving too much to chance when I did not intentionally onboard a new hire.  I knew it was important, but I was not sure what steps needed to be included in the process.

The steps above worked for me.  I kept a check list of things I covered with each person.  I hope the list above will spark some thoughts on your part.

As a hiring manager or as an organization, our new hires deserve to be provided the best opportunity to succeed.  We want them to succeed.  Why shouldn’t we eliminate the element of chance?  Once they are hired, the gambling needs to end.

Question:

What are you or your company doing to give your new hires the best chance for success?