Set up your New Hire for Success

A great article came out in HBR (Harvard Business Review) this month about how to set up a new hire for success. There are some great pointers in the article and as a contracting and recruiting agency in Texas, Brookwoods Group  has watched the onboarding process and new hire orientation in many companies during the 20 years we have been in business, we would like to add our two cents, as well.

https://hbr.org/2019/05/7-ways-to-set-up-a-new-hire-for-success?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+%28HBR.org%29

In addition to these great suggestions we’d like to add the following to their robust list:

1. Immediately identify for the new employee the company/industry bible or acronym dictionary that focuses on your company and business units.
2. Share all profiles of the leaders they’ll be supporting and provide a synopses that indicates personality type, communication style, and other key traits that will enable a smooth relationship ramp-up. Part of this is shared in the HBR article under Connect Them with Key Stakeholders.
3. In the beginning weeks schedule one-on-one meetings to ensure ramp up is coming together fully with no unanticipated challenges. Help manage any issues that may have arisen since the last meeting. This fosters a climate where asking questions is encouraged and appreciated.
4. Share the “what not to do’s” as well as the “what to do’s” to keep the newest team member from possibly going down a road nobody wants to be on.
5. If possible and if this is a replacement, have the previous employee leave a handbook or at the very least a checklist on the basics of procedure and process for that particular role. The new employee will receive one for the overarching company policy and procedure, but for the exact role, this is often not thought of or is an afterthought at best.

HRB continues to offer relevant and helpful ideas that we at Brookwoods Group appreciate. We hope you do, too!