So now we have made a hire or accepted an offer. We have spent a great deal of time and energy deciding what needs to be done and who is going to do it. This is a long journey, not always an enjoyable one. This is where the fun begins.Most people, especially incredibly busy sales managers will find a good person, hire them, then throw them into training. Even with the best expectations, the right description, and a complete analysis of someone during the interview process, we no almost nothing about our new employee/employer. I will break this topic into two posts (4a and 4b), one for an employer making a new hire, and one for the employee on their first day.
Getting to know your Employee
Everyone who has managed, or has a desire to manage a group of people knows that their greatest assets are those they hire. Yet, how much time do we spend indoctrinating them into our environment before teaching them the trade? How often do we delegate the responsibility of learning to another person or department.
In a later series of posts I intend to include media (worksheets, questions lists, example documents, training guides) for each part of the plan series. Until then, here are some strategies to getting to know your people. I suggest if they are going to be in the field, bring them in for at least a week to learn the ropes and meet the inside teams and management. If you do this then the following applies. If you train from the field, the concepts apply, but the manners change to you being in their area.
1. Make time to be their ambassador on their first day. CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULE. BRING IN ONE PERSON AT A TIME. Give your new recruit at least half, if not all of your day. The trust built by this commitment will last for a very long time. When I was building my first start up team, and the team members who came in early appreciated me more than those that came late. I had more time to show them the ropes. I learned a valuable lesson later in the role when I passed the responsibility of teaching people the ropes to other team members. It cost me availability and at times loyalty.
2. Ask a set of questions to every new employee. Do this when they first arrive. Before showing them there desk, but after offering them a cup of coffee.
2a. Questions about their last job, their last boss, their least favorite job, there least favorite boss, their favorite boss, etc etc… Ask the question, listen for the why, and if it is not forthcoming, delve. Share personal stories, but keep your side of the communication to a minimum.
2b. Ask some personal questions. Many of us do this in the interview, but this is a good time to engage again. Ask them their favorite movie, where they like to vacation, about their hobbies. LEARN WHO THEY ARE OUTSIDE OF THE ROLE YOU HAVE GIVEN THEM. Do not act like you care, but make a space to actually care and remember these things.
2c. Ask about their ambition. Not just goals, but what they intend t accomplish in life. There is a requirement to use some of your own selling skills here. Make this conversational, not a Q&A session, or you will get pat career answers. Try and engage in conversation out past joys and share your own plans for the future.
3. Take them to their desk and show them how things work. You can utilize other team members to assist you in this, and I recommend it as a form of team building, but do not pass your new hire off to a senior representative and go back about your day. Interact, pay attention, study their natural learning curve. What they pick up quickly and what they struggle with will help you later down the line.
4. TAKE THEM TO LUNCH! Show them a nice time and take it slow. Show them that your time with them is important. Do not take cell calls, it can wait an hour. Ask them about the first four hours. Share with them what you have seen and start to collaborate on a plan.
5. After lunch give them a chance to settle in. An hour or two on their own with a list of goals and activities (Build your e-mail signature, read information on the website, etc…). At this point they might start wondering why you are hanging around so much. Give them a break.
6. Assign them a buddy. If you have Sr. Reps this is easy, if they are a field rep, make it their prospecting team, or a long time team member. If it is a newer team, make it another person in the company. Bottom line, you want them to have another person to go to with questions. New hires feel uncomfortable asking their boss about every little thing.
7. Schedule their first day on a team meeting day. MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT THEM JOINING. Have specific details to share and ask them to talk about themselves. Prepare them for this with an advanced warning so they are not surprised (We are talking about sales people, they should have a desire to share).
8. Have an exit interview. Review what they have seen and determine what unique skills and needs they have. This is when I suggest giving them their training schedule. Do not give it to them until the end of the first day and you will have a better chance of them participating in the goals of day one.
9. Share your performance expectations, your boss’s performance expectations, the company’s performance expectations. Let them see how they are part of the plan.
If you design a new hire day around these suggestions, you will build excitement that will lead to higher levels of job assimilation. Good luck in developing your strategy and I look forward to your comments.
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