The Golden Rules of Human Resource Management

Section 2—Orientation and On Boarding: Every employee represents an investment. How new employees are introduced to your environment will in many ways set the tone for how they will perform. There is no second chance to make a first impression. This applies to your company as well. The new employee needs help and support to become acclimatized. If you want this process to take the least amount of time, it should be done fast and competently. Even if the new employee has been selected from within your group, the person still needs orientation to settle into the new job. Good employee orientation ensures: • Understanding of what is important to your company • Understanding of the company’s core values • Understanding of the employee’s responsibilities • Employee’s ability to become productive faster • Establishing a good working relationship Taking control over the orientation and learning process is important because employees may learn the job from the wrong person! They might carry on previous work practices, which may be quite different from your company culture. The first few days in a company can determine the success or failure of the employment relationship. 15. Orientation Essentials Ideally, a manual should be given to every new employee. This manual should contain all information you’d like the employee to know, which can be reviewed at leisure and read whenever in doubt. It should contain: • History, mission statement, and statement of values the company takes seriously • Any policies and procedures the employee must know • Safety rules • Benefits and company perks that are common to all • Work hours, leave and overtime rules, sick leave, etc. • Performance appraisal • Dress code Many organizations follow a buddy system, with new employees being given a buddy for the first few days. Selection of the buddy is done carefully. You want to show your best employee and not someone who is unhappy. On the first day at work, every new employee should be greeted by an appropriate employee at your site. At the very minimum, do the following: • A tour of the work area • Introduction to coworkers at their place of work • Briefing on keys, IDs, rest rooms, entrances and exits, breaks • Discussion with manager of job description, expectations, goals, regulations • Details on security, using computer network, email. Instructions on use of Internet, mail, and removable media security. Registration of user account and creation of logins. • Completion of all necessary insurance and payroll forms • An informal coffee/ lunch if appropriate • Going over the 5 C’s of your business: • Customers (main customers, their demands and values) • Competitors (main competitors and their strengths) • Collaborators (suppliers and related businesses) • Company (company history, goals, and current situation) • The market climate (your industry) A well-designed orientation program convinces new employees that the company is run efficiently, that they are cared for, and that the company is willing to invest time and money in them. 16. Training No manager will ever contend that his subordinates will not benefit from available training. Even if you have well-trained personnel, giving them refresher training will help break bad habits and shortcuts acquired over time, and the discussion that training classes invariably generates will help spread best practices. Even if you are moving employees from one office to another or promoting someone to take on additional responsibilities in the same domain, training needs cannot be overlooked. Employees cannot be treated to a one-size-fits-all approach to training. Even new hires will need a degree of customized training based on their previous experience, skills, education, and talents. For all but the most trivial of tasks, employees want to know the right way to do a job and how it impacts the other work in your organization. Merely giving them a lecture and showing some slides will not do. You must create a program that lets them practice the job under supervision, and if the task is really complex, provide follow-up training and perhaps videos they can view in their spare time. A wise Chinese scholar once said, “Tell me, and I will remember for a while. Show me, and I will remember for longer. Let me do it, and I will never forget.” Let that wisdom guide your training sessions. It has also been observed that training employees makes them feel wanted in a company. The very fact that their company is investing in their development boosts morale and productivity. This directly translates into reduced turnover of employees. The Golden Rules • Training new employees well is extremely important since your new employees’ productivity, safety, and organizational growth will depend on it. Do not delegate the task to a trainer who is inadequately trained, lacks morale, and is not keen on the task. • If you do not have the right trainer, consider outsourcing the job. • Create training notes, job videos, and manuals that employees can refer to. Insist on creating checklists for important and complex tasks. • Test the employee and provide feedback during training sessions. • Break up the training into phases. New employees may not be able to grasp it all at one time. Get them back for more advanced concepts once they have mastered the basics and been on the job for some time. • Standardize the basic tasks. • Give feedback at different stages of the training classes. This will allow you to take corrective action in time. • Look for measurable improvement in employee performance. Know the parameters you should measure. 17. Setting up a Mentoring Program Having a good mentoring program is an effective method of improving the training and culture of your organization. Mentoring has been in place for hundreds of years and has been one of the most effective ways of transferring tacit knowledge—that cannot be written down or codified to someone new to the job. Mentoring is participative and inclusive. It builds relationships and imparts organizational values to your new employees. Most people in your organization, even the star workers, are probably not good mentors. You must look for people who are able to establish relationships and rapport as well as command respect for their own quality of work. When you are implementing a mentoring program, you will need to consider the following: • Selection and training of mentors themselves. The requirement may not be much, but you will need to ensure that the mentors know their role. (Are they teaching how to assemble a widget or transferring a manufacturing culture or both?) • How much time the mentor must spend away from the job. • Managing the program, evaluating and monitoring progress, and benefits.