[powerpress]
I’ve been employing LOTS of new people thanks to some great results we’ve had for some influential clients who’ve gone on to tell other entrepreneurs about our services.
(Thanks Chris)
So naturally I’ve been looking at some great ways to hack the employing process, I’ve come up with a ton of useful material which I’ll post as time goes on.
For today though I thought I’d start with my new employee integration process.
For most businesses this is a slow and unguided series of events that hopefully results in a new hire knowing what they’re supposed to do, knowing what you expect of them and knowing how to fit in best.
The knowing how to fit in part is an important one, most people leave this to chance but that’s far to average for me so I split it into 3 parts…
If you prefer to read than listen, check out the original post by scrolling further down.
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[powerpress]
photo credit: gcoldironjr2003 | cc
How To Hack New Employee Integration
I’ve been employing LOTS of new people this month as the business has really taken off thanks to some great results we’ve had for some influential clients who’ve gone on to tell other entrepreneurs about our services.
(Thanks Chris)
So naturally I’ve been looking at some great ways to hack the employing process, I’ve come up with a ton of useful material which I’ll post as time goes on.
For today though I thought I’d start with my new employee integration process.
For most businesses this is a slow and unguided series of events that hopefully results in a new hire knowing what they’re supposed to do, knowing what you expect of them and knowing how to fit in best.
The knowing how to fit in part is an important one, most people leave this to chance but that’s far to average for me so I split it into 3 parts:
1. Knowing the quirks of the boss.
2. Knowing the quirks of their team members.
3. Knowing the client quirks.
We’ve set up systems for each and I thought I’d show you mine so you get an idea of what research we do for each client and each other.
This has been a very valuable tool to increase integration and has meant our new hires become productive MUCH faster. Anyway here is the official…
Blue Print to Neil And His Quirks
1. Opinions matter but nothing trumps data to settle a discussion.
I’m a data driven guy, I want to hear the opinions of people and I want to get ideas but at the end of the data the truth is the result, everything else is opinions. So we let the data do the talking.
2. I value quick response to e-mails.
Time is money, so I ask for all e-mails to be answered within 6 hours so we’re not held up waiting, we tend to work collaboratively on most projects in real time but sometimes if someone is working remotely we’re reliant on e-mails. In those situations we have a 6 hour turnaround, naturally no one expects e-mails to be answered when you sleep but during the day speed matters.
3. Question everything, 99% of what you read online is bullshit, the only thing that matters is testing.
We all like to read blogs and sites like mashable seo moz and the like, but 99% of what you read on there pertaining to helping websites optimise traffic, ROI and repeat business is complete crap.
So going back to point No 1 sure use these sites for ideas but don’t believe the hype (or the GURU who’s never actually run traffic online), test everything.
4. I value the “shower idea”.
I’m more of a shower guy, I can’t stand the idea of bathing in my own dirt… my wife loves baths…. anyway, I’ve often found I get great ideas in the shower, there is evidence that many other people do too, something to do with the water. Anyway I don’t expect people who work for me to work 24/7 and in fact they perform better when they don’t, but I love it when one of them brings in a great idea to test that they’ve had whilst at home, out with friends or otherwise away from work.
5. Fall on your sword – finger pointing drives me nuts.
Nothing bugs me more than passing the buck, if you screw up great, we can learn much more from mistakes than we can from getting it right and the reality is if you’re pushing hard you’ll make more mistakes than have successes, it’s the people and businesses that embrace change and learning that make the biggest gains.
So if you screw up admit it, fast, then lets move on.
6. I value initiative – try and find the answer before asking the question.
I love to help people, I do it all day long, and there’s nothing I like more than empowering people to do well so before you come to me with a question try and find the answer yourself. 9 times out of 10 you’ll find it and feel better about yourself as a result.
7. I value problems and solutions.
Problems are money in the bank for most businesses, it’s from finding and solving problems that we get to grow, so we go out of our way to find them.
8. Office politics will get you fired fast.
Like playing games? then join a nursery, office politics is cancer and has to be cut out fast.
9. Fight your corner.
Got an idea you want to test? then fight for it, do your research and convince us it should be tested, you’ll progress much faster if you do.
10. Telling the truth will win you points.
Lies slow things up big time so I reward truth telling at all times.
11. Sometimes the customer does not like the advice but we give them the truth every time.
I believe we owe it to our clients not to act like sycophants with them, we’re hired because we’re good, being good means making tough calls on problem solving. Clients that want results always value the truth, clients that want sycophants quickly go elsewhere and their businesses show it.
12. 100% of all problems arise from not communicating, if you have a problem talk, I hate having to guess what the problem is (mostly because I’m crap at guessing).
Does this need any explaining? life’s too short for passive aggressive behaviour, got a problem, lets work it out and move on.
13. Being late bugs the hell out of me, if we have a 9.30 meeting and you’re going to be late let me know.
I’m busy, you’re busy, we’re all busy! So if we have an appointment booked either show up on time or let me know so I can schedule something else in so I’m productive whilst I wait for you.
In Conclusion
So there you go, what I do is sit down with a new hire over coffee and go through each one and ask clarifying questions and get their feedback.
Hacking new employee integration is easy when you open up! Tweet This By Click Here
Give it a try with your team and see their productivity rise, after all, we all like to know where we stand.
Neil