Engagement starts on Day One
18th Aug 2006 @ 8.04amIf you’re entertaining guests by letting them help with dinner preparations, make sure they know what you’re serving and where to find the pots, pans and utensils. Same thing applies to new employee induction. Give them an orientation that helps them be productive from Day One.
posted by Martin Clarkson
filed under Engagement
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Induction is such a key moment - the time when you can set clear directions for new staff and ensure that they know how their role will contribute to the journey of the business. Lose this moment and people will be far less effective as will take much more time to find out for themselves. Motivation will be higher from the outset too.
Same applies to acquisitions. Employees of the “bought” company may feel let down, sold on, and apprehensive. They don’t belong to the culture of the acquiring business. But, the opportunity is there not just to welcome them with warm words, but to explain why their experiences, products, skills, markets etc are really important and why the new owners wanted to invest. How the journey of the enlarged business will be enhanced with them on board, and how they fit it.
It seems such common sense, but I think we all know lots of examples where it has been sadly lacking, with the obvious consequences.
Paul - the idea of reaching for heart, mind and soul from the very moment of induction is an absolute critical necessity - yet as you say, it is simply just not done by the widest margin of organizations. This is baffling when one thinks of the cost of finding and hiring a new team member - or of acquiring a business. In todays world of hyper speed business and customer freedom to move on, missing the opportunity to engage an employee from the very start can have dire consequences on performance.
As so many organizations have migrated to hiring for attitude and behavioural fit - while training for technical compency when the right person is found, I can’r understand why they so ‘casually’ miss the opportunity to model the very behaviours they seek in those they employ. Ken.