Integrating New Employees in the Workplace

Infusing Your Workforce with Mission, Vision and Values

Ok, so let’s say you’ve defined your organization’s mission, goals and values. You spent valuable time and resources in that process, and now there is an alignment between your organization and your employees. Still one challenge remains. How do you transfer that knowledge and alignment to the new employees entering your organization?

 Attracting and recruiting top talent also requires time, resources and capital. But all those resources may be wasted if your organization doesn’t have in place a good new employee orientation program, designed to get the new employees aligned with your organization and up to speed quickly.

The First Week Makes A Big Impression

Research indicates that an employee’s first days in an organization sets the foundation for a successful employee-firm relationship. During those first days, new employees learn habits, form relationships and establish their perception of their role within the organization. The future success of the employee might be dependent on those first days. This is a powerful, vulnerable time in the life of a new employee, and it also represents the most teachable instance that your organization will have to shape the new employee.

 The on boarding process should be a mean to emphasize your organization’s vision, values, goals and policies as well as to provide the new employee with necessary information to start their contribution to the organization. The goals of a good orientation process should be to transfer organization knowledge quickly, highlight the mission and the vision of the organization and how it connects to the individual’s tasks and make the new employee feel at ease.

 Key ingredients for a successful orientation program include:

1.  The orientation process should start before the new employee’s first day. Send a message to all the employees announcing the new hire. Ensure that all the tools and necessary equipment are in place for their first day. Send the new hire an email with information regarding their first day in the organization. This will help them feel welcome in advance.
2. Spread the orientation process over a few days or even weeks. Many organizations make the mistake to try and have the orientation program compressed in one day. This will only add stress to the new employee, who will be overwhelmed with information.
3. Assigned a “go to person” or a type of “mentor” for the new employee, someone that can answer their questions, show them around and formally and informally provide them with information and support.
4. Involve the executive team in your orientation process. This is a great opportunity for the senior executive team to “walk the talk” and emphasize the organization’s mission, vision and goals and strengthen the alignment between your organization and the new hire.  Give new employees the opportunity for an in-person welcome by a senior executive.

The manner in which you handle the acquisition and assimilation of new hires communicates volumes about your organization and your leadership team. A good effective on boarding process will enable and inspire the new hires to deliver better results faster. It will also increase their organizational commitment and your organization’s ability to retain top talent.

Remember–first impressions really count, and will set the tone for the rest of the relationship with your new hires.

Nicoleta Ratiu

SFU Human Resources 2009 Graduate

Community Service Providers Invited

Employment Service Providers Free Networking and Development Workshop

The workplace of tomorrow will be very diverse, comprising individual differences in generations, education levels, cultural, and ability/disability. As an employment service provider, you’re aware of these realities, and are focused on connecting your clients with satisfying work situations.

Through the Tomorrow’s Workplace project, we are supporting the connection of businesses with community groups in order to source and recruit job-ready individuals in Surrey. We are helping organizations explore their “Business Case for Diversity” to help them sustain and grow into the future.

During the workshops and discussions we’ve had with employment service providers, one common theme expressed is their challenge in building relationships with businesses.

Please join us for exploration and discussion

We invite you to join with peers in your community as Dr. Neault and Ms. Pickerell share tips and techniques for building collaborative relationships with the business community. This is about moving forward, taking some risks, and recognizing how employment service providers are uniquely positioned to meet the immediate needs of our business community.

More About the Speakers

Dr. Roberta Neault is president of Life Strategies Ltd., an Aldergrove-based firm specializing in diversity, international/global careers, and career management as a recruitment, retention, and engagement solution.  She is a counsellor-educator at Athabasca, Yorkville, and Trinity Western Universities, and an award-winning keynote speaker, trainer, presenter, and facilitator.

In 2009, working with SUCCESS, she was instrumental in developing a toolkit: SEED: Supporting Employers Embracing Diversity. This comprehensive toolkit guides employers in recruitment, retention, and training a culturally diverse workforce.

Deirdre Pickerell, Life Strategies’ senior consultant, received the BC HRMA Award of Excellence for her innovative work in career management within organizations. Ms. Pickerell is a sought after speaker and an international expert on using career management as an employee engagement strategy.

Meeting Details

YOU MUST CONFIRM YOUR ATTENDENCE – RSVP to Heather Scragg at the Surrey Board of Trade   Email: heather@businessinsurrey.com   Call: 604.581.7130

Wednesday, March 3, 3:00-5:00pm

(network/register 2:30-3:00)

Sheraton Guildford, Surrey BC

Hosted by the Tomorrow’s Workplace project:

Gayle Hadfield, Project Manager,  Lynn Corrigan, Workplace Design Consultant

15th Annual Cultural DIVERSEcity Awards for Business

Gala Event for Diversity – Business to Win Award

Tomorrow’s Workplace is happy to promote the upcoming Annual Cultural DIVERSEcity Awards for Business: April 13, 2010 at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel in Surrey, BC.

Businesses from the lower mainland who exhibit leadership qualities in the application of diversity values and practices are eligible for nomination.  There are a variety of business size categories; small business, non-profit, youth-owned, government funded, etc. to insure inclusive opportunities.

Judges will be looking for:

• Cultural Expertise
• Community Involvement
• Employee Initiatives
• Marketing Strategies

For More information, visit their website at DIVERSEcity.

Click here for a quick  FAQ on the event.CDA FAQ

There is an Elephant in the Boardroom!

Some Things Just Can’t Be Ignored!

Politicians, royalty, business owners, charity organizations, and family re-unions can have an enormous beast with a huge trunk in the middle of their lives or boardrooms, and still have a unspoken agreement:

The Elephant is to be ignored.

Imposing as he may be, the obvious problem must be avoided.

The effects can get quite loud and obnoxious, until finally someone has to do something.

The problem is by the time we act, things have usually beccome complex and the web of issues tangled into a chaotic jungle.

Tomorrow’s Workplace has recently launched a new series THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM in an effort to bring to our awareness some of the challenges within the existing workplace.  Our intention to provoke discussion and stimulate what may be lively debate, in an effort to become strategic about solutions.

You can find a listing of the different written posts and videos on our ELEPHANT page.

Enjoy, but not too much!

Tomorrow’s Workplace: Mission, Vision and Values

Applying Mission, Vision and Values in the Tomorrow’s Workplace Project

One area our team is continually promoting to business and community providers is the overall importance of a clear mission for the company or organization, the subsequent vision that accompanies it, and the values that drive it.  To illustrate we asked our Project Director, Mr. Bill Beatty, to outline the MVV for our project and demonstrate what it looks like.

Mission

Tomorrow’s Workplace Partners and Team provide a container that focuses creative, practical, and logical skills on developing resilient small and medium sized businesses, reflecting a diverse workforce, demonstrating strong community support.

Vision

Surrey is a nationally recognized community where business, government, and service organizations collaborate, around the Surrey Board of Trade, to create a vibrant local economy based on sound business practices, community-supported sustainability, and employment representative of the diversity of its workforce.”

Values

The Tomorrow’s Workplace collaborative believes:

♦        Business values community

♦       Community partners will change what they do and how, if it makes personal, professional, and spiritual sense

♦        Local government, educators, and service organizations value business

♦        Business drives community wealth and stability

♦        The entire community benefits when businesses employ citizens reflecting our diversity

♦        Everyone in Surrey wants to see business success

♦        Small and medium sized businesses need community based support to thrive

♦        Surrey can be a model of business  development for our province and nation

♦        The Surrey Board of Trade is a leader in innovative business and community practices

♦        Tomorrow’s Workplace is a key resource for business and community

♦        Together we will succeed

What is A Business Strategy?

To Be Successful in Business, There Must be A Working Strategy

Stragetic outline is crucial to your business success.  It’s your roadmap, you chosen path, you contingency plans, your plan B, C and includes the “run for you life, every man for himself” plan. 

Once a company has a plan, the next step is to communicate your strategy in effective ways to your employees, partners, suppliers and customers.

The first place to start is to answer some of the following questions.  You might find this excercise helpful with a consultant or third party facilitator who will ask the next questions: why, what if, why not, and who says. 

Before you call the board of directors or your management team, begin working with these foundational strategic questions:

• Direction: where is the business trying to get to in the short and long term.
• Markets: Which markets does the business compete in and what kind of activities are involved in such markets?
• Advantage: How can the business perform better than the competition? What’s their competitive edge?
• Resources: What resources (skills, assets, finance, relationships, technical competence, and facilities) are required in order to be able to compete?
• Environment? What external, environmental factors affect the businesses’ ability to compete?
• Stakeholders: What are the values and expectations of those who have power in and around the business?

 Where do you run into roadblocks?  How have you communicated your strategy to the game players in your company?  Your comments are always welcome and others will benefit from your perspective.

Leading Change

Change Needs a Focus

The Real Deal on Change

There’s a popular belief that people resist change. In reality people don’t resist change–they resist being controlled. People have predictable concerns with change that once identifies, can help valued employers shape their plans to support individuals through business growth and all the changes that brings.

Here’s the inside information on six predictable concerns that can hinder successful change implementation. With this understanding, you’re set to shape your future with employees who are on board.

1. The first predictable concern is information concern. People want to know why the change is needed and what needs to be done. They don’t want to be sold on a plan, but they want to understand the necessity of change. Tell people what is it that you know, that if they knew, they will come to the same conclusion. If people know what change agents know, understand what they understand, they will be less resistant to change.
2.  The second concern is personal concern. People want to know how the change will impact or benefit them. Will they, as individuals, win or loose as a result of the change? If personal concerns are not addressed, people will be more resistant to adopt change, and they will tend to revert back to their old behaviors once they have the chance. 
3. The next concern is implementation concern – the logistics of the change. They can understand the business need, the personal benefits, but they need to know the steps in the change process and the available resources in case things won’t go as planned. It is important to provide them with information about who can answer questions and provide them with assistance in case things don’t go as smooth as anticipated.
4. Another concern is impact concern. People want to know how much of a difference the change will make. If the three previous concerns are successfully attended to, you won’t need to design details of the impact concern. Your people will provide you with feedback and tell you what’s making a difference.
5. The fifth concern is collaboration. More than just addressing everyone’s concerns, involve employees in the changing processes, and they will help you move the change forward.
6. The last concern is refinement. Source continuous feedback and make adjustments along the way. Make the journey together.

 If change leaders understand these concerns, they can anticipate and address them, and facilitate an informative change process. Concerns are not necessarily negative, they are merely unanswered questions.

The key to addressing those concerns is a high involvement strategy. You need to give people an opportunity to have their voice heard. If people are involved in decision making and they feel they contribute to the change, they will be less likely to resist it. “People who plan the battle, rarely battle the plan.”  Go forth.

 Gayle Hadfield; Nicoleta Ratiu

Diversity In The Workplace – Pt. 1

Part 1 of the Series: DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE

True diversity goes a step further to include differences that aren’t visible to the eye — differences in the ways people approach their jobs. (R.Mourtada)

Tomorrow’s Workplace encourages “diversity in the workplace,” and yet without definition, that could mean anything from providing vegetarian meals in the cafeteria to hiring people from Atlantic Canada in BC employment. What is the reference point when we refer to diversity in the workplace, and how do we find common ground?

We begin with a article written by RASHA MOURTADA first published in the Globe and Mail in March of 2007. In March 2009, the article, as presented here was updated.

VISIT THE ARTICLE – CLICK HERE.

Your comments are useful in our collaborative education on the subject. Please feel free to do so below.

Post-Decision Strategies

This is a continuation of  Crunch Time – Making Decisions by Lynn Corrigan.

Tough Decisions are hard to make.  Once you have made them, and maybe taken a breath or two, you can evaluate your decision using some of the following criteria:

Once you’ve made the decision:

• Are you happy with this decision? Can you stand by it?
• If you had more time or information, would you change your mind?
• Was the decision making process thorough enough?
• Did you involve the people you needed to for a range of perspectives?

Plan communication about the decision to provide context and direction:

• Why you needed to make the decision
• What you hope the decision will accomplish for the business (the goal)
• The actions that need to be taken
• Responsibility for each action
• Deadlines for each action
• How you will monitor the progress of your action plan
• How and when you will report on progress
• How will you know that it worked?

What aspect of decision making do you find most challenging?  Start the discussion below under comments.

Submitted by: Lynn Corrigan- based on material written by: Making Decisions by Robert Heller; DK Publishing, Inc.

Crunch Time – Making Decisions

When times are uncertain, it’s harder to make decisions because accurate and complete information simply isn’t available.

Trends are unreliable and everyone becomes more cautious. Routine operations may be called into question, strategy that was solid six months ago has had its fundamental assumptions collapse, and normal operations have turned into a series of emergencies. Here are some guidelines.

What type of decision do you have to make?

• Routine: If this is normally a routine decision, and something you’ve decided before, what’s changed that makes you think your previous decision is no longer valid? Do the legwork to get to the bottom of your concern.
• Strategic: Is this a strategic decision? Does making the decision change your strategic plan or will it affect your business for two years or more?
• Emergency: Is this an emergency? Does the decision have to be made within a specific time frame or penalties or other unpleasant consequences will ensue? Does not deciding/not acting commit you to a course of action that you can’t change? Is it critical to the success of your business or the welfare of stakeholders?
• Operational: Does it affect operations and those carrying out operations?

Be systematic. Five questions to ask:

Are you addressing the right issues?

Do you have all the information you need?

Have you considered and compared alternatives?

Have you identified difficulties and checked feasibility?

Have you taken consequences into account?

Submitted by: Lynn Corrigan- based on material written by: Making Decisions by Robert Heller; DK Publishing, Inc.

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