Friday, December 10, 2010

Where Are The Bathrooms and Other Things New Hires Need to Know

One of the secrets to successful onboarding and socialization of new hires is to make sure they are fully informed on everything that they need to know. Let me amend that. New hires need to be informed on not just what they need to know but also what they want to know.

Most companies fall short on this one because we rarely stop to think from the newcomer's perspective. Instead we focus on all the goodies that we think are important.

A few years ago we put together this list called the 5Ws. It includes all the Who What Where When Why and How questions that your new hires want and need to be able to answer.

WHO
To whom do I report?
Who reports to me?
Who else does what?
Who can help me?

WHAT
What are the job priorities?
What should I accomplish daily, weekly, monthly?
What are my goals; what is expected of me?
What is the department's role in the company?

WHEN
When do I need to be at work?
When do I take breaks?
When is lunch?
When do I leave?
When can I get help from my manager?
When is my work due?

WHERE
Where do I park?
Where do I sit?
Where do other people sit?
Where are the resources I need?
Where are the bathrooms?
Where are the conference rooms?
Where do I get lunch?

WHY
Why is my job important?

HOW
How do I do my job?
How do I use the equipment?
How do I handle questions?
How do I handle mistakes?

Pass this list along to your Managers. Getting them answered may involve a combination of direct supervisors, the former incumbent in the position, senior peers and/or a new hire buddy or mentor.

Having a good grasp on all the various items helps an employee move from feeling like the lost newbie to being an important member of the team. This kind of socialization and embeddedness is directly correlated with satisfaction and employee retention.

3 Comments:

Blogger Satindra said...

Good one. I am sure I'll use it as a guide.

8:24 PM, February 28, 2011  
Blogger Melman said...

Beth I would like to post this on my website or you can join as a member and post any of the other blogs that you think will fit the audience.

Mel Kleiman

www.kleimanhr.com

6:47 PM, June 23, 2011  
Blogger paulsmith198914@gmail.com said...

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11:04 PM, February 14, 2016  

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