Saturday, March 15, 2014

How To Hire Hourly Team Members Part 16... The Right Way to Welcome Your New Hire onto the Team


So… now where are we?  Oh yes… We have our Leadership team on the same page about what is actually happening on our team, what we need to change, and moving who is responsible for what, right?  Right!  They should also be pretty amped up if you did it right.  You listened to them tell you what was happening on their shifts without judging them (perhaps for the first time?  Be honest… it’s a good thing!)  You did more than just allow them to participate in coming up with goals for the team, you made sure they were all participating, right?  Great!  You also made sure that they know how you feel about them… how much you appreciate them, trust them, etc… right?  Ok… fix whatever you need to fix and I won’t tell anyone.   It’s up to you to get this right if you actually want to make any real positive changes on this team of yours.  No one is going to hold your hand and walk you through it, nor is anyone going to catch your mistakes and make you go back and fix them… unless you succeeded in finding a good mentor and are sharing all of this with them.  That would be super!

 If you have yet to find the right mentor, keep working at it.  I should mention again that the right mentor is someone who thinks differently than you do.  Someone that pretty much everyone seems to like and more importantly respect.  Someone who is not your friend already… they will not be likely to give you honest, in your face feedback about what you are doing wrong.  It’s a little like being in school… there was always the easy teacher, maybe a few others who were OK, and then there was at least one who had a reputation for being really tough… gave the hardest tests, and expected the most out of their students.  Remember?  That’s the person you want to ask to be your mentor.  You want the best… only the best can teach you how to be the best.  So put away your fears and find the best leader… the person you think might be toughest on you since you don’t agree with them about much, and ask them to help you develop your leadership skills.  Do it today.  Now.  There is little that you can argue is more important for your career and long term success.  Now.

We also have our newest hire who, if you did it right, will be full of spit and vinegar, and excited to play an important role on your team.  Now for an important question… how long do you think that great attitude and energy they are bringing with them will last if you just throw them to the wolves (so to speak)?  How long until they work with several team members who want everything to stay just the way it is?  How long will it take, when they show up and find out that your workplace is not so much as you described it, for them to lose that positive energy, and settle into being a mediocre worker?  “This is just like the last place I worked”… I can hear them now.

You cannot allow that to happen.  But what can you do?  Well… this is what.

You will prepare the stage for them before their arrival.  Remember that you included one or two of your best team members, the clone worthy ones and your future apprentices, to your Leadership team building meetings?  You did that right?  Good!  Now that pays off.  You will already have assigned one or both of these people to train your new hires and continue the indoctrination.  We keep up their energy, and keep them excited.  As we hire more great people they will help the team gain some positive momentum, and only if we keep on top of it.  So…

You will welcome them on their first day.  You will do it.  Anyone else can be there, and you will welcome each new hire.  You are their team Leader.  You are in charge.  You will be there for their reviews.  You have already indoctrinated them, and since you are the one who recognized their potential and energized them, only you have the power to keep them moving along the right path.  Your workplace is filled with people who can derail your new hire, and only you can keep them on track and maintain their momentum. 

You introduce them to the person who will be training them, and your new hire will spend their shift working with, talking to, taking breaks with, eating with, and ending their shift with their trainer.  You can be in the mix, as can your trusted apprentices.  You will do this for the first week or two.  Yes go ahead… I can hear it already… how you can’t afford to do that; how you need them to be working on their own; how you can’t have 2 people doing one job for that long; that’s not how we do training here; blah blah blah…  So let’s go over this again.  Are you happy with the current culture in your workplace?  Are you happy with the quality of your current team members?  Are you achieving your goals at work?  Are you developing your own leaders, and are you seen by others are the person to go to when they want a great person for their team? 

If yes… That’s great!  Good for you!  I would encourage you to take a look around and find the struggling leader who needs your help… mentor them, write a book, start a blog… so many people need your help!

If not, this is what you need to do to change your team and achieve your goals.  It will not be easy.  If you want results that are different from those you have been getting you will need to do things differently.  You need to invest time and energy not only in hiring the best people, but also training them, mentoring them, praising them, and all of the other things we’ve talked about so far.

This will come up again.  How badly do you want to achieve your goals?  How badly do you want that high functioning team?  Then shut up and let’s get to work.

You will maintain a close relationship with this and every new hire for the foreseeable future.  These are your future apprentices and Leaders.  You will make mistakes, and drop the ball… that’s expected.  And… you will pick it right back up and get back to work.  You cannot allow your new hires to be indoctrinated by those team members you would love to see off your team.  And that is exactly what will happen if you allow it. 

This is a key… Whatever you allow, you choose!  You read that right.  If you allow it to happen, it is the same as if you chose it.  Chew on that, and take a good hard look at your workplace.

Choose to accept nothing but the best from your new hires.  Choose to invest your time and energy into keeping them excited about working with you, and I guarantee you will be very happy with the dividends you reap. 

Next time we’ll talk about (maybe we should have already talked about it) the meeting you will have with your entire team.  It’s time to share your vision and your new expectations. 

I also wanted to share an article I read today…  I read a huge number of leadership articles and blogs, however I only share the ones that pretty much completely agree with.  So there!


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Oh… and this one too…

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