The Flap - Blackbird Learning Associates: Quick and Easy Steps to Onboard a New Staff Member...

The Flap - Blackbird Learning Associates: Quick and Easy Steps to Onboard a New Staff Member...: Bing Images I recently received an invitation to attend an onboarding training program.  In a few hours I would learn how to design and...

Quick and Easy Steps to Onboard a New Staff Member

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I recently received an invitation to attend an onboarding training program.  In a few hours I would learn how to design and develop a new hire orientation program for my staff.  It said that studies show that 69% of new staff will leave a company within 3+ years if they aren’t oriented properly.  I can vouch to that.

I remember when I accepted an opportunity to work with a large financial company in New York City. I received my new hire letter from the Human Resources Department where my official first day of work was listed. I was excited to begin my career with this new company and looked forward to meeting my manager and team members. I arrived at work and no one had heard of me.  The receptionist didn’t have my name (luckily I brought my new hire letter), there was no one to greet me, I had no office and on top of everything, I learned that my manager was married the previous weekend and off on her two-week honeymoon.  A staff member showed me to a workspace and settled me in front of a video where I would learn about the history of the company.  The next two weeks crawled by with hardly a visitor, a task, an orientation and no one to go to lunch with.  I felt like the new kid in middle school. I wanted to quit. I’d come from a company where I designed and delivered the new hire orientation program so needless to say, when my manager returned, I suggested that perhaps one of my new tasks would be creating a program and process for all future new hires.

Less than three years later (I wonder why) I moved on to a large pharmaceutical company and again there was no onboarding process. I did meet my team members and received an employee handbook so things were looking up. As I was working in the Human Resources department, I again suggested that we design a welcoming program for new hires. Here is a general idea of what we did:

1.    Planned a welcome meeting for the new hire for Day 1 on the job. This meeting would include a bit about company history, values, culture, products and services. It would also include a review of company and HR policies and practices and a tour. 

a.    The receptionist would receive the employee’s name and upon their arrival, the receptionist/security would call a designated HR department member.

b.    The HR department member would welcome the new hire with coffee and after they are settled, give them a tour of the organization along with an organization chart.

c.    Any paperwork and benefit information would be reviewed and acknowledged including policies, confidentiality agreements, employee handbook review, etc.

d.    The HR department would walk the employee to the new department and reintroduce him or her to the hiring manager.

2  Prior to the start date, the HR department would contact the hiring manager to plan the

d  departmental orientation.

a.     The department manager or HR will schedule meetings with various managers and staff members.

b.    Lunch dates with department members and team members would be planned for the first week of work.

c.    Assign a peer to help the new hire acclimate and to introduce him or her to the organization.

d.    Any projects or tasks will be introduced. It also helps to give the employee some satisfying work; something that they can do well and isn’t busy work.

e.    The Department Manager will meet with the new hire again on the last day of the work week to answer any questions and to see how things are going. Other check in meetings should be scheduled as well.

f.     The department manager will also schedule any meetings with internal and external customers.

g.    A workspace will be available and everything tested to make sure it works (hardware, software, passwords, phone, desk supplies, security information, etc.).

Depending on the position, there can be other steps. A friend of mine mentioned that she received an email from her hiring manager as soon as she accepted the employment offer. The informal email simply stated the manager looked forward to working with her and was glad that she accepted the offer to come work for the company.

It’s the little things that make an employee excited about working for a new company, want to give 100% and feel as if they are a part of the team. It benefits the employer too in that they have an engaged, eager staff member. It doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming; a planned, organized onboarding may be all it takes.

You Lost Your Job, Now What?

Losing your job can be painful and even if you disliked it and were looking to leave, it still hurts when you are given the ax. Here are a few tips to get you started on a new career path (after you have reflected, relaxed and stopped beating yourself up).

1. Your Company’s Career Services Office. Take advantage of the training, career assessments and counseling offerings. Ask for and receive advice on the format and style of your resume. Get interviewing tips. No other company or organization will offer this type of high caliber service free of charge. If your former company offers this you are very lucky.

2. Your state or county unemployment office. Make use of the training and make an appointment to talk to a career counselor about any state run or nationally-mandated programs. Research programs offerings such as returning to college, bio-tech to small business development and others. Also, participate in the office’s support groups and volunteer on one of the many committee positions. Look at the Professional Service Groups that most unemployment offices have and attend the meetings. You will be able to network, attend free presentations on job search skills and perhaps add another skill to your resume.

3. Your public library. Many offer job search and computer skills training and most if not all, are free. Check out the on-line calendar or call the Adult Services Librarian and ask what they have. Many offer on line job search tools. They also offer a number of other interesting programs and this is another great place to network.

4. Your local community college. Many offer free or low cost job search training or business advice. Talk to a SCORE counselor if you are interested in owning a business. Research government grants for retraining. 

5. Volunteer. Find an interest and get out there. While you are doing something that you enjoy, you can also network and develop new skills.

6. Professional Groups. Almost every profession has a group. Look for one in your area and join it. Usually the local chapters are more reasonable than the national chapters.
7. Social Networking. Create a complete LinkedIn profile and join some career interest groups. Get involved in conversations. Ask and answer questions.

8. About.com, Monster.com and other sites. Look up career advice and look at the templates designed for career- specific resumes and cover letters. There are also plenty of sites for the older job seeker.

9. On-line newspapers and magazines. Almost every day there is an article about job search. Some are full of depressing statistics but others offer great advice and even more resources.

10. Your College or other colleges. Most colleges have links to their career service offices and there’s a lot of good advice about resume templates, fonts, spacing, networking and interviewing tips.

Stop Putting Me Into A Box

White Privilege. It’s a relatively new word whose definition continues to be debated. It “kind of” refers to the white person who was born into all sorts of privileges and opportunities just for being white. The shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, MO and choking death of Eric Garner in Staten Island, NY this summer brought it to the forefront.

I’m white. I was born white to two loving, white parents. My dad was in the service so my very young years were spent in Germany mixing it up with other kids whose dads were also in the service. We didn’t know black from white back then even though we were living through the days when color and segregation were going on back home in the USA. Not us though. We just knew that there was a new kid around who made life more fun.

My parents were products of the Great Depression.  They grew up sharing a backyard in the Bronx. My mom was part Irish and part German and my dad came from two German parents. They grew up without a lot of anything and they never, ever muttered or said out loud any prejudiced or racist comments. That was carried down to their kids. We just didn’t grow up that way.

When we moved back to the States we played with kids in the neighborhood. Since we lived near an Army base, there was a mixed bag of kids in the playground and in our classrooms. In grades 1 – 3 we all wanted to ride in the back of the bus to school. That was because that’s where we could feel the best ruts in the road and bounce so high that we could hit our heads on the bus ceiling. We were all one with our bumped heads. My Brownie troop? It was the Heinz 57 of races and religions.

When my dad's job changed when I was in the fourth grade, we moved to another town by the New Jersey shore and our elementary school didn’t have any black kids. About half the kids were Jewish though and here again, our friends and traditions co-mingled.  My middle school and high school years were spent in public schools where the percentage of black, white and Latino students was pretty much evenly split.  It was the first time that I was picked on because I was white and because of the side of town that I lived in. It surprised me but didn’t make me hate or turn me away from the other kids of color. I never carried a chip on my shoulder towards anyone.

I went away to college. As a former military man and then elementary school teacher, my dad didn’t bring in buckets of money and my mom was a stay at home mom.  I worked two jobs each summer so that I could have spending money for school.  I also carried student loans into my working years and I paid them off.

I had a great career as a hard working contributor. I never made bunches of money or shot to the top of the corporation and that was due to my own life choices. I was let go from my company after an impressive (at least to me) career but I’m not going to blame someone or say it is because I am a woman or worse, I am an older, white woman. I lived my corporate life as I lived my personal life as an open, good-hearted person. I saw office politics all the time and frankly cursed myself for not being able to play those games because as everyone knows, those are the games that help a person get ahead.

Growing up and even now I’ve heard people say that they don’t want to work for “the man” or blame “the man” for not allowing them to get ahead. Who is “the man”; does that mean corporate America? I think that's an excuse for laziness. Even though you might not want to conform to the rules of an organization, it may be the only way to survive and thrive. Why would I not even consider creating a life for myself and family because I’d have to work for “him”? Would I rather my kids suffer for it? Because of "the man” I was able to buy a house, car, and take a vacation every now and again.

I understand that children living in impoverished neighborhoods have a tougher time catching a break and I get that times aren’t the same as when I was growing up. We had something in common back then: most of us had both parents at home and education was encouraged. As a former single parent I know about struggling to make ends meet. Still, when I was growing up, chasing the American Dream was activity pursued by everyone, not just by the white people. It seems to me that today, as a nation, we are moving backwards rather than forwards. The media and our government aren’t helping matters either and are stoking the fires of racism and inequality.

White privilege… it sounds so prissy and stuck up and yes, there are people who fall into that category. Because I'm white though, I’ve been told that I have no choice and I’m automatically thrown into that box.  Perhaps the media or whomever came up with the term should select another phrase or better yet, forget the colors and just use the word Americans. Maybe that will allow us to heal and move forward as one.

Stop the Cycle of Hatred

You know how some countries teach their children to hate America and Americans? I just read an article about kindergarteners in a school in North Korea who take turns stabbing a cartoon poster of an American soldier with the words, "We love playing military games knocking down the American bastards." There is another poster in the same classroom with a picture of an American with a noose around his neck. This one says, "Let's wipe out the U.S. imperialists."

Who remembers the video of the celebrations following 9/11 where the Palestinian children are seen rejoicing in the streets along with men and women; their mothers and fathers? There are countless articles that tell us that in mosques in the United States, Muslim children are being taught to hate America. Hate doesn’t hide; it’s all over the world.

We all know that children are malleable and will do whatever it takes to ensure that they are loved and accepted. Their display of hatred is praised and they equate that with love and approval. These examples show that children can be taught to hate at a very young age. They weren’t born hating, it came from their parents, grandparents, relatives, church/temple/mosque members, townspeople, family friends, school friends (who learned it from their families) or teachers.

Now, look at what is currently going on in our own country. There is consistent division based upon race, religion, sexual preference, gender. It started a long time ago and by people who have been dead for years. Their legacy of hate has been handed down from generation to generation. Why do we still have to listen to their intolerant, hating whispers?

Look in the mirror folks; this loathing is on all sides. Who wants to break the cycle, take off the blinders and teach our children about tolerance and respecting differences?

Writing Your Resume - Some Tips

A wonderful woman came to one of my workshops and at the end of the program, introduced herself and said that she was not getting any bites on her resume. She asked if she could email it to me for some feedback. Well, we have gone back and forth on four or five different revisions and I finally think that it is ready to send out or hand over to her network contacts. This woman used to work in the theater industry and has many (very interesting) stories about the types of things that she did to make the visiting artists feel comfortable and welcome in the new town or how she negotiated with various venues to receive substantial discounts. The thing is, none of her examples (her accomplishments) were on her resume. Her original resume was four pages long and a listing of her job responsibilities. No wonder she wasn't getting any hits.

While I give someone credit for reviewing everything they have done in the past, it doesn't help if their resume isn't focused to a particular position, highlight accomplishments and make the hiring manager immediately put it to the top of the pile.

Here’s what I do to involve a client in creating his or her own specific resume template. Perhaps you can do the same thing to prepare your own resume.
1. Research your old job by going to the company website and bringing up your former position. If that job or a similar job is there, you're lucky. Expand on responsibilities and make them measurable by asking questions such as:
a. Who did I work with? Internal? External? Where were they located?
b. How many clients did I have? (If applicable)
c. Within this position did I save money, time, create a process, design a procedure, etc.?
d. Looking at that position, what were my biggest accomplishments? What was I proud of? Why?
e. What did I like about this job? What didn’t I like?

2. Look up the type of position on any job board,or website ( ehow, Indeed.com, LinkedIn or the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook). Do the job responsibilities align with what I did? Is there new wording that can be incorporated into the resume (new buzz words, technology, jargon)? Expand on these by asking:
a. Have I done these types of activities before? What specifically were the results?
b. Could I jump into this job tomorrow? Why? Capture the specific activities that support this.
c. Why am I perfect for this job? Again, capture the specific activities that support this.

3. Go to the online pages of the companies that you are interested in working for. Read the “About Us”, “Our Philosophy”, and “Our Employees” type of pages and read the wording. Ask yourself:
a. What have I done in the past that supports this company philosophy, etc.?
b. How would I fit into this company?
c. Why would this company want me?

All in all it is a lot of questioning, note taking and thinking. The responses are then culled down to specific wording and resume format. It's a great start, you are writing your own resume and in the long run, see yourself as an accomplished player with skin in the game.

The Exploratory Interview

The other day a client asked me for some assistance with an upcoming exploratory interview. Being that this woman is always on top of things, she googled the phrase and found out that an exploratory interview is similar to the informational interview. That interview can be defined as a meeting usually prompted by the job seeker, to gather information about a job, career field, industry or company.

This time, my client was asked to participate in a forty minute informational or exploratory meeting with the department head of a brand new internal organization. She thinks it’s because she interviewed with this person several months ago, before he was tasked with organizing this new department. While she didn’t get the open position back then, she has kept in touch with him and lately emailed him a short note about a recent accomplishment. 
Perhaps this manager or someone else in the new group wants her to come in to get a feel for her background and experience as they relate to the new department.

I suggested that she prepare for this interview as she would for any other interview; the only difference is that she doesn't have a job description or listing of position responsibilities. Since the recruiters in her organization use a list of canned competencies or soft skills during every interview, she followed those as she discussed with me her general tasks, projects and accomplishments. She has interviewed before and is familiar with the STAR (Situation, Task, Actions, and Results) behavioral method so we rehearsed several examples of her accomplishments.
We also covered some basic interviewing questions such as:
Tell me about yourself.
What are your strengths?
What are your weaknesses?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
This department will be tasked with ____. How do you see yourself and your skill set fitting in?
Finally, we came up with a list of questions to ask the interviewer. They included:

1. Will you be hiring for a particular position? (This might come out in the exploratory interview but if not, ask ).
2. What skills are needed to succeed?
3. What is the one skill that is needed for this position that I might be missing? How would you suggest that I correct it?
4. What advice would you give to a newcomer to your department? What mistakes do you think newcomers make when they start in your department?h

In the end we found that like any interview, preparation is key for the exploratory interview. You may not know the questions that will be asked but your preparation will go a long way in determining your confidence and grace under pressure.