(Time to read this Blog is about 3 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Biz Quote of the week:
   “What are you ‘famous’ for?  Famous is good!  If you’re not famous for something that matters to your target customers, you’re an undifferentiated commodity…and that will end badly!”     
   …Donald Cooper.
    
2. Quick Biz Tip:
   We become what we hire:

1. 1. If we hire world-class, talented, engaged, innovative and passionate people, we’ll become world-class, one key recruitment at a time.
   2. If we hire incompetent, uncaring, mediocre underachievers, that’s the customer experience we’ll deliver, the culture that we’ll create and the unhealthy bottom line that we’ll get.

Do you have clear commitments to your target customers, to your Team and to your bottom line and do you hire talented, engaged Team people to deliver those commitments…and do you tank and reward them appropriately?  If not, perhaps we should talk.  I’m easy to find at donald@donaldcooper.com.                

3. How effectively do you communicate your value story? An October Survey by the Guardian Newspaper found that 61% of Americans wrongly believed that inflation was increasing, and 49% thought that the U.S. economy was in a recession, which it was not.
     
   So, here’s the thing, people buy and vote based on their beliefs (assumptions)…not on the facts.  What are you doing to get your target customers to correctly assume that you are the ‘wise choice’ for them.  That’s how you’ll get their ‘vote’.
    
4. What up-market, luxury experience could you create to elevate your Brand, delight your more affluent customers and grow your bottom line?  Luxury hotel company, Four Seasons, is wowing travelers with a number of ‘around-the-world’ luxury private jet adventures.  One of these 24-day luxury adventures has a ticket price of $229,000 US per person.  That’s $9,542 US per person, per day!

   Granted, this is ‘the extreme high end’, but how can this inspire you to add some extra luxury, convenience, comfort, prestige or other emotional value that will appeal to some of your target customers by making them feel more special and more valued? 

   Sit down with some of the best minds and hearts in your business and spend an hour thinking about this.  You’ll be amazed at what you come up with.

Now, to this week’s important topic:

 7 tips to get your new employees off to a better start:       

Do you have a structured ‘Onboarding Process’ (welcome, orientation and learning agenda) for each new employee you hire?   What do they need to know about the company and their job, who do they need to meet?  How can we help them feel welcome, comfortable and valued…and how can we help them feel that they made a wise decision is choosing to be part of our Team? Here’s a checklist of 7 tips you might consider…

1. Create a ‘Company History’ and general ‘Welcome To Our Team’ info package, including a short video, and share that with them as soon as they’re hired so they can read it before they start with you.  The ‘Welcome To our Team” package will contain info on dress code (including why), Company Values (including why), Standards of Behavior (including why) and any other rules, info or tips that folks will need to fit right in.
    
   The ‘Welcome To Our Team’ package should also include a list and brief description of your Benefits and the name and contact info of the person they should contact for additional info.  

2. The Thursday before they start, a brief memo should go out to all employees with whom they’ll be working or interacting. It should say who the new person is, what they’ll be doing, why it’s important, what their background is and a little about them as people.
    
   A similar memo should go out to announce the promotion of an existing employee to a new position …or to announce a special achievement by a Team member, inside or  outside the business.
    
3. Create a specific detailed Learning Agenda for them.  What do they need to know, from whom or where will they learn that…by when?  Who will follow up with them to make sure the ‘learning’ is being learned?   Who do they need to meet?  When will that happen?   
    
4. Have their workplace ready for them on day #1, including a small welcome gift.
    
5. Take them on a tour of the operation so they see the full scope of the business and how each Department, including theirs, relates to the ‘whole’. Depending on the job for which they’ve been hired, giving them a copy of the Company or Department Org Chart might be helpful in understand who interacts with whom, in what way.
    
6. Meet with them first thing and at the end of each day for the 1^st week to discuss learnings,  answer questions and introduce next steps in their ‘On-boarding Plan’. Some smart companies assign a veteran ‘mentor’ to each new employee to show them the ropes and be a ‘cultural advisor’ for the 1^st month or so.
    
7. Ensure that they feel welcome, comfortable and appreciated.  Make sure they are engaged and challenged, but not overwhelmed.  

This is by no means a complete Onboarding Plan…but it’s a start.  How might these 7 tips help you get each of your new employees off to a better start?

That’s it for this week…

Stay safe…live brilliantly!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.