Engagement: Take the First Step
We all want to hire people who are going to make a difference. Who will drive our businesses forward.
We want people who will remain engaged long after the honeymoon period.
The circle of engagement is pretty clear. An employee likes her job so she works hard and does well which in turn produces rewards that matter to her so she tries harder still.
But where is the on-ramp? What fuels this virtuous cycle?
photo by robotography
It’s easy to put the onus on the employee by saying you’re paying well, you have free yoga classes and M&Ms. But none of those spin the wheel. Despite what you may think those are only ‘nice to haves’ for most people. People who are intrinsically motivated to do something amazing.
You’ve spent a lot of time and money to bring the new employee on-board. So why not suck up your pride and take that first step? Do everything in your power to ensure the people you hire succeed?
- Give your time liberally. Yes, you’re busy. But every minute you give to properly on-board someone will give you several in return in the long run. The new employee will appreciate it even if you don’t hear about it. You’ll be rewarded with more and more focused effort. Your team scales, you don’t.
- Praise early initiative. It’s tough for someone to come aboard, figure out how everything works and pay immediate dividends. Rather than being ‘constructive’ and honing output, focus on input. Few will be more motivated to put in solid efforts than when making the first impression. Do your part to encourage that same level of effort in the future.
- Listen. Find out what where they loving pouring their efforts. Ask for an honest assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. Their weaknesses will be the areas where they put forth less effort. Minimize those occasions. Similarly, find out what they want to get out of a job, what skills they want to pick up and what motivates them. They may have thought about it, but be persistent.
Engagement is a two-way street. There is give and take on both sides, but we far too often neglect the new employee and trust them to ‘quickly get up to speed.’
Take the lead in engaging your employees and that lead will be followed.
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