IBEX

Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now

A story about Onboarding New Employees

By: Getty Stewart
Head of the Home Range

“He was pumped all weekend; I haven’t seen him this excited for years,” my friend describes as she tells me about her husband’s anticipation of starting a new job.  As she continued to describe how eager he was to give it his all and to make a great impression, I couldn’t help but think about one of my first day experiences or about the new employee starting at IBEX this week. 

I can easily recall the thrill and excitement of starting my first “real job.”  I was the epitome of the young, bright, eager and ambitious young professional ready to make her mark on the world.  I lived by the theme song “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now.” My enthusiasm was surpassed only by my naïveté.

The reality of that first day struck me hard.  My boss was away at a meeting and no one else knew I was coming.  I didn’t have a desk (well, there was an empty chair and a desk underneath a bunch of boxes and papers in the “storage” cubicle) and the only task I was given all week was to fill in a TD1 form and read the corporate employee manual.  Sadly, by the end of that week a new tune was running through my mind: “Take this job and shove it!” 

Which all leads me to think about the new employee starting at IBEX this week.  It makes me wonder – have we done everything we can to make her first day a great one?  Based on her interviews, I suspect she’s eager and ready to impress.  Are we truly ready for her?  Have we set her up for success?  Have we done everything we can to ensure that her positive, ambitious attitude remains?

I know we haven’t done a good job of this for past employees.  Don’t get me wrong, we’ve talked a lot about the need to make “onboarding new employees” (the latest buzz word for new employee orientation) a top priority.  But, while our talk was good, our actions have missed the mark.  Apparently, it seems we’re just too busy to actually capture new employees’ enthusiasm and get them being productive as quickly as possible (yes, I’m being extremely sarcastic here). 

So, this time, we’re making a conscious effort to make the onboarding process at least somewhat better.  We know it’s far from perfect, but at least we’re headed in the right direction with some of these ideas:

  • We actually let our existing team know about the arrival of the new employee including her name, experience, job role, etc.  (This may sound like an obvious step, but sadly, we’ve actually forgotten to do this at times.)

  • In addition to full access and coaching from her direct supervisor, our new employee has the full support and attention of her peers.  Her peers are ready to take her to lunch, help explain the daily routine and answer any questions about her specific tasks or the company.

  • This time, we made sure our new employee had a fully functioning work station, including all necessary passwords and secret access codes.

  • We were a little late on getting her business cards printed, but we did leave a welcome note and an IBEX mug waiting for her on her desk.

  • Within the first three days, each employee sent her an email with a little explanation of who they are, what they do, where they sit and whatever else they wanted to share with her.  We thought this would not only be a great welcome and a good reference for who’s who, but would also give her something to do when checking her new email account.

  • Her inbox also has an email explaining some of the logistical and cultural things she might want to know about IBEX, like where and when everyone goes for lunch, what’s a Grumpy Goat and who’s our charity of choice.

  • Her supervisor planned a full agenda for her first week – a mix of training, meetings and time to get settled and familiar with the job.  Not only did she get to fill in her TD1, but she also had the opportunity to process her first payroll on Day 2.

Engaging new employees, capturing their enthusiasm, helping them do the best job they can as quickly as they can and making them feel that they are truly welcomed and appreciated is important to us.  It is important to the culture that we’re trying to create at IBEX. 

We know we have a long way to go and there are many more things we can do.  Can you help?  We’d love to hear about some of the great things you’re doing in your organizations to bring your new employees on board.  Please, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your ideas and best practices.  Not only will we try some of your ideas, but I’ll publish them on our www.gettyanddarryl.com website.


February 24, 2009
 

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