Getting On-Boarding Right

From pre-K to college, professional teachers understand the critical importance of a successful school year launch. “Onboarding Isn’t Enough,” from a recent Harvard Business Review states new employees need to be fully integrated into the culture of the company.  In the study of senior executives:

“Organizational culture and politics, not lack of competence or managerial skill, were the primary reasons for failure.” For new executives to succeed the research stated requires:

  1. Assuming operational leadership
  2. Taking charge of the team
  3. Aligning with stakeholder
  4. Engaging with the culture
  5. Defining strategic intent

In my book, The 100: Building Blocks for Business Leadership, I explain in chapter 30 how we set the tone quickly, upon acceptance of our offer, we:

  • Send a letter of congratulations
  • Courier a floral arrangement delivery to their home
  • Send an email explaining what to expect the first week

In short, take time and care to communicate with new employees.

standardOctober 3Tom SalonekHappy Employees

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Why Work for Intertech?

We also exceed expectations by offering some exceptional benefits, such as:

  •  Three-month paid sabbatical for every seven years of service. If you don’t want to take the time, you can opt to receive cash instead…or tailor a combination of time off/cash that works best for you and your family.
  •  Flexible work culture that allows the majority of our employees to work from home one or more days each week. In fact, nearly half of our revenue last year was generated by employees working remotely.
  •  SIGNING BONUS: Intertech will purchase equipment for your home office-related expenses (up to $1,500).
  •  Exceptional teammates who have your back and learn from each other. That’s the result of selective hiring standards in which only one of every 20 hiring candidates are asked to join our team.
  •  Being part of a rare organization that is a two-time #1 Mid-Sized Employer in Minnesota award winner (Minnesota Business magazine, 2012 & 2014) and one of the Top 10 IT mid-sized consulting firms in North America (Consulting magazine, 9/13).

Know someone who maybe interested in joining our team, connect with them and fill out: https://www.intertech.com/Jobs/Candidate-Referral-Program  

Tweet: Know someone who maybe interested in joining our team, connect with them and fill out: https://www.intertech.com/Jobs/Candidate-Referral-Program

standardAugust 29Tom SalonekArticle on Intertech

Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!

Did you like the movie “Rudy”?  The coach gets the team psyched by acknowledging challenges and sharing the plan to overcome them.  In business, this works too.  In fact, professors at Texas A&M studied motivational language theory (MLT).

In a Harvard Business Review (HBR) article they share “most winning formulas include three elements: direction giving, expressions of empathy, and meaning making.”

Here’s a succinct summary of the three elements:  Direction giving – People want to know what’s expected of them.  Empathetic language – You’re talking with a human… act like it.  Meaning-making language – Answer why this is important.

 

standardAugust 3Tom SalonekCommunication

Meeting Madness!

In a recent article from HBR, we learn that meetings are:

  • 65% = Interruptive
  • 71% = Unproductive
  • 62% = Miss opportunities (to bring the team closer together)

Meetings are supposed to improve creativity and productivity—but they do the opposite when they’re excessive, badly scheduled, and/or poorly run.  Here are some additional points from the article:

  • Companies with “dysfunctional meetings were associated with lower levels of market share, innovation and employment stability.”
  • Declaring “meeting-free periods” and enforcing those time restrictions resulted in fewer wasteful meetings
  • “Meetings do not have to be a trap; they can be a conduit for change. . . In the end, better meetings –and better work lives—result.”

 

 

 

standardJuly 28Tom SalonekLeadership