You've spent months recruiting a new team member, not to mention the cost. Finally, you've got a deal, and your new recruit starts soon. What can you do to help your new employee get a successful start?
I define a successful start as the following list of conditions existing by the sixth month:
- The new employee has accomplished one significant thing that I can brag about - a clear answer to "how's the new guy doing?"
- The new leader and I have agreed on any changes to people on the new leader's team, and most of those will already have been made.
- The new leader and his team have a clear idea of what they are trying to accomplish, and mechanisms for tracking their progress.
- Key stakeholders understand the new leader and he understands them, and they are working well together.
- I am really pleased with the hiring decision.
Here are some things you can do to help a new leader come on board quickly and effectively:
- Know and understand the process. Read The New Leaders 100-Day Action Plan: How to Take Charge, Build Your Team, and Get Immediate Results
and/or The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels
. And I usually send one or the other book to the incoming leader and ask him to read it long before Day 1. See also my series summarizing the first book.
- Assign someone to assist with setup before Day 1. Download this checklist [MSWord, 42KB] to help with the task. [Checklist source: PrimeGenesis.]
- Assign someone to assist with relocation if the employee is moving from out of the area. Here is another checklist that can help with relocation [MSWord, 44kb, also from PrimeGenesis] .
Why spend time on the last two? Because the less a new leader has to worry about administrative hassles, the more time he will have to concentrate on learning the new role. Think about the value stream - the product is an up-to-speed and effective leader. Anything that drives that forward adds value. Anything else is waste, so try to minimize it. In this context, finding a desk is waste, while visiting customers is value-add.
- Plan to meet face to face with the new employee before Day 1. Use the time to lay out your expectations, priorities and boundaries and discuss resources. Work to get to know the new employee better - the whole person, including his style, dreams, family.
- Brief key stakeholders before Day 1, working to set-up the new leader for success.
- Help the new leader develop a plan for Day 1, then play your part in the plan.
- Plan to stay in close touch with the new employee for the first few months. He will need coaching, teaching, encouragement and a sounding board.
- Plan what you will need to teach in the early days; things like your vision and goals, organizational values and norms, how you work, control and reporting systems, your priorities, key stakeholders.
A new team member represents a large investment of time and money. You need that investment to payoff. Why not put the same pre-planning into the new leader's startup that you would put into the startup of a new piece of equipment? You'll be glad you did.
