VISION Sets Company Culture
Sink or Swim vs. Support and Training for New Hires
In an earlier post, I explained an effective way to onboard new employees in a way that maximizes employee productivity. In that post, I describe the difference between providing support and training vs. the sink or swim method. Starting the relationship with your new hire with support and training goes a long way to establishing a strong foundation for employee loyalty. The training needs to be available in writing or video or audio clip format so the new hire can refer back to it as they learn more of the details of their job and the company standards to be met. Without this kind of support, the employee has no way to reference if they are on track or not. This opens the door to a myriad of frustrations for both the employee and the team the team they have joined.
Ongoing Training and Support
It would be a mistake to provide support and training only during the early days of the new hire experience on the job. How you treat your employees has everything to do with their loyalty to your company and wish to stay for the long term. Loyalty is a two-way street. It’s the company’s job to create an environment that is organized and integrated with the company’s vision with systems in place that establish how the work will be done and to what standard. Something that is often ignored in this mix is providing a management system that is consistent throughout the company and lays out the kind of ongoing support that all employees (including managers) will receive.
Managers who meet regularly in private with their direct reports have the opportunity to express recognition and praise on a regular basis. Those meetings are also the opportunity to address what needs to improve and check on the effectiveness of the systems that are in place. Without a mechanism to evaluate whether and how well your systems are being implemented, there is no way to tell if the systems are being used consistently or whether they are effective at producing the results that you want.
Real Time Results
These individual “employee development” meetings provide the opportunity to support the employee’s professional development, identify opportunities going forward that meet the employee’s career goals as well as address issues in real time that may negatively impact employee performance so they can be resolved in a timely manner and not intensify over time. It’s this kind of value that make employees want to stay with a company.
The company culture has a lot to do with it too. Are the work relationships healthy? Does everyone have the opportunity to contribute their best and express leadership? Is there fear of management? Is there tension in the workplace? Leadership from the top usually determines the landscape of the company’s culture. It helps to express the company’s culture as part of the Business Vision. Does the day-to-day experience of everyone in the company match that vision? If not, things can be done that connect the vision more specifically to the promise of that vision.
Call Janice at 408-884-8861 if you have questions about where your company stands regarding employee loyalty and how to improve it.
