Lessons in On Boarding Strategies from the Dog Park

Jack, our young black/chocolate lab, and I visited the dog park on the east side of Cincinnati this week. There is certain camaraderie there and I typically meet some interesting dog owners. This week was no exception and I had an intriguing conversation with a fellow dog owner that owned a business. He had recently hired several new employees and was struggling to develop a plan to effectively acclimate them to the firm. Last week’s blog post focused on Servant Leadership. This week’s post focuses on Servant Leadership in the context of on boarding new employees.

As the economy gets back on its feet, more and more firms are slowly beginning to hire employees. In addition, firms are concerned about high performers leaving their jobs for new opportunities. The Cincinnati Enquirer published an interesting article recently, “As economy improves, workers leave”. According to a study from the Harvard Business Review in May 2010, “approximately 25% of companies’ top performers are planning to leave their current job within a year”. It is critical that the business owner or leader is proactive and develops a strategy now to effectively on board new employees so they can be successful in their roles.

1. Develop a plan and goals for the new hire.
The company has invested significant resources in hiring a new employee. It is important that the leader develops a plan that takes into consideration the skills, knowledge, experience, resources and relationships the new employee will need to be successful in order to maximize their return on investment. Companies can no longer afford to hand the employee a manual, instruct them to read the manual independently and chat with co-workers to learn about their job. They need to have a plan with specific and measurable goals and objectives.

2. Identify key individuals the new hire will be working with and facilitate networking opportunities for them during on boarding.
Business relationships and networking are critical to an employee’s success whether they are in a large firm or a small business. By incorporating networking opportunities into the on boarding process, the leader is placing a high priority on this skill when the employee is in learning mode. 

Lessons on Servant Leadership from the Dog Park

This weekend we did not have an opportunity to visit the dog park as our black lab, Jack, was ill. However, I did have a chance to reflect on employee motivation and simple techniques we can use as leaders to engage our employees.

W.H. Auden has an interesting quote; “To ask the hard question is simple”. Employees like to believe their leader has a sincere interest in their well being and professional development. As a leader, are you spending quality time talking with your employees on a daily basis? In the past, I worked with a leader that did a phenomenal job with motivating and leading his team. When he retired from his position, his employees actually planned his retirement party and commented he was the best leader they had ever worked for.

One day, I asked him about his leadership secret. He said it was simple. He made time in his schedule on daily basis to walk the production floor and talk with every single employee. It was manufacturing environment and he did not intend to make it a lengthy or formal discussion. Instead, he informally spoke to the employee by name and asked how they were doing. He asked a very simple, but insightful question: Do you have everything you need to do a quality job today? There is a term for this called “Management by Walking Around”. The employee trusted him and would openly share any issues they were having that day. If the employee revealed any issues, he would ask for ideas on a resolution. Frequently, they came up with some excellent and creative solutions. He and the operations manager would proceed to work on a resolution utilizing the employee’s input. This leader viewed his role as providing support and resources for his team members. In addition, this conversation with the front line workers often revealed issues with productivity and system performance which allowed the leader to rapidly troubleshoot problems and quickly respond to customer needs or concerns. This was an effective example of Servant Leadership.

Have you seen examples of Servant Leadership in your work or professional lives? We would like to hear about additional examples of Servant Leadership from you.

Chrissann Ruehle is Co-Founder of Black Lab Ventures, LLC. The firm provides customized human resource consulting services for small businesses.