If I Had a Magic Wand, Starting a New Job Would Always Include...

[iNow]

This thread is an attempt to solicit informal feedback from the membership about how to properly bring a new employee into a company or job. All opinions are welcome, including the obvious, the outlandish, and the opportune.

 

From the moment a job is offered to a future employee (whether in person or via letter), to the prep work and research they do before arriving on day 1, to the orientation they receive upon arrival, to the interactions they have and the work they do after starting... 30, 60, even 90 days after the first day... What does that include? What should that include? What is frequently missing? What could employers do better?

 

 

Often included are summaries about the employer, details describing their profile, their history, information about the sector in which they compete, financial summaries, etc.

 

There is also information about benefits programs, insurance, stock, access to tools or equipment, and perks like discounts at local businesses or gym equipment and workout facilities for all staff, or coffee in the breakroom.

 

Generally, there is the tax paperwork, and the setup of email accounts, and obtaining access to systems and databases, or getting security clearances when necessary. There is often an introduction to the team, or a posting with an employee bio, or perhaps a group lunch.

 

 

How would you make this "onboarding" process better if you had a magic wand and could do anything you wanted?

 

In your view, what is absolutely necessary in this process, what is totally useless, what increases the chances for success for employees and the employer who is hiring them, how do companies usually screw this up, what mistakes get made, and what are some ideas you have about items which should be included that could just be "nice to have" options which make the process for new employees smoother, more welcoming, and more informative?

 

 

If you were starting a new job today, what would help you to assimilate more quickly and be more successful? What does that look like?

[CharonY]

Insights into the interactions between the colleagues (aka, politics). Unfortunately, there is no way to get it objectively.

Edited August 10, 2011 by CharonY

[iNow]

Insights into the interactions between the colleagues (aka, politics). Unfortunately, there is no way to get it objectively.

Thanks for the response. It's a good point. Perhaps the employer could mandate 30 to 60 minute interviews with at least 4 or 5 members of the team to occur during the first 30 days, specifically to ask about culture and social nuance?

 

Alternatively, the employer could put all of the existing employees into a cage and the new employee could observe them like they would a bunch of zoo animals or fish in an aquarium!

[CharonY]

I have seen the first kind of measure employed fairly often. Unfortunately, people are rather guarded at the beginning, so it is tricky to get reliable information out of these interviews. Sometimes you can spot that something is really off, though. Fixing it is a different issue, of course.

[iNow]

Unfortunately, people are rather guarded at the beginning, so it is tricky to get reliable information out of these interviews.

I had exactly that same thought. When the person is new, you don't know what to share with them, you don't know where their alliances are, and also you don't want to taint them and turn sour their hopefully mindset and give them a reason for cynicism so early. It can be tough, and I think a lot of it is about asking the right questions, but that's EXACTLY the kind of stuff a new hire needs to know.

 

I wonder what else could make it better. I'm thinking stuff like "setup a golf outing with the executive," but that's not really my style.

[Ringer]

You could always just have people anonymously fill out things they would like people to know about the work environment. Anonymity would give them the courage to actually write what they think.

 

Of course you would have the jack asses that fill it out stupidly but those should be fairly easy to spot.

[imatfaal]

We will always have an office lunch - lashing of wine and takeaway with mtv; this is not to welcome the new employee (although of course it is) but to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary or something even more contrived. It creates a social setting that allows people to get to know the newbie - WITHOUT the newbie being the centre of attention.

[CharonY]

Another thing that could help is a decent mentoring system. Though that depends on the interaction between the mentor and the mentored.

[iNow]

You could always just have people anonymously fill out things they would like people to know about the work environment. Anonymity would give them the courage to actually write what they think.

This is a good suggestion, hard to implement, though. I'm trying to think through a way that we could still obtain candid feedback from existing staff to share with new employees, and to do so in a way that is respectful of privacy while providing an accurate view of the company (or group) culture.

 

 

 

We will always have an office lunch - lashing of wine and takeaway with mtv; this is not to welcome the new employee (although of course it is) but to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary or something even more contrived. It creates a social setting that allows people to get to know the newbie - WITHOUT the newbie being the centre of attention.

That's another cool idea. Offsite activity with the express intent of letting the new hire get to know everyone, but without adding pressure to them as if this event is "about them" or "for them." It sort of kills two birds with one stone.

 

 

 

Another thing that could help is a decent mentoring system. Though that depends on the interaction between the mentor and the mentored.

A mentor system is a great idea. I wonder if it could be mandated for all new hires, and pair them up with someone passionate about their work. Hmm... Even if it wasn't an official mentor system, perhaps buddies could be assigned to every new hire during the first few weeks.

 

 

Thanks everyone for the responses so far. It's helpful to hear ideas like these from others.