Two years ago my husband Don and I decided to give
our yard a "facelift."
We had ideas of how to update our landscaping and we
wanted more blooming flowers
to enjoy from spring to fall. We worked with a woman
who designs gardens and after
many long talks and designs to review, we decided on a
plan to implement. My friend
Julie asked me at the time, "Are you sure you
want to plant so many flowers
all at once?" "Of course!" I said,
while at the same time a
little voice inside me told me she might be right.
Our garden appeared as if magically. (It's amazing what
four big twenty-something
guys can do - and in such a short amount of time!) For
one week, every evening
when we came home there was more to delight us. The
job was done in five days.
I had the perennial garden and landscaping I had
wanted for so long. I was
a happy woman.
As I was digging in the dirt this past weekend,
weeding and trimming a garden
that was shamefully not "winterized"
before the cold and snow hit
us last November, I was thinking of my gardening
naiveté of two years
ago. What did I think exactly?
Well, I'll tell you - I thought I was going to install
this beautiful garden
and it was somehow going to take care of itself.
That's what I thought!
I thought installing the garden was the END of the
process of having a beautiful
yard. As I bent over my Lady's Mantle pulling out
the shriveled leaves of
last year, I thought, "This is exactly what
some companies and hiring
managers think about the hiring process."
DO
YOU THINK THAT HIRING IS THE END OF THE
PROCESS TOO?
You've searched and searched and found the man
or woman who's perfect for your
position. The references were great. The offer was
accepted. A start date was
agreed upon. (And if you're using a recruiter, you've
even paid the bill!) Bingo!
You're done. Your employee is ready to go and
start producing for you.
Not to draw the analogy to the extreme (although
that's hard to resist!) but
by making your hire, you have done nothing more
than stick a plant in the
ground.
What can you do to help ensure that your newly
planted employee will blossom
and grow in your garden (read company)? Here are a
few suggestions.
HAVE
AN ORIENTATION PLAN
Like the newly planted flower, the early days
are critical. Some
companies have elaborate programs to initiate new
employees and some companies
do absolutely nothing (wrong!) One company we know
of has a "buddy system"
for new employees to help familiarize the new hires
with fellow employees, how
to work the phones and even where the best places
to get lunch are. What's your
program like? If you don't have a plan, get one
fast.
TRAINING,
TRAINING AND MORE TRAINING
I am constantly amazed at the number of companies
that do not provide initial
training and on-going training for their employees. I
think of training as the
"fertilizer" for your new hire. You must
give them all of the tools
they need to be successful for you - you must
"feed" them with knowledge
of your product and company. If you have an
initial training program, that's
great. We know one company that has a formal ten-
week program for their new
salespeople. And then they get one week of sales
training every year.
Remember too that you have to fertilize all the
flowers in your garden
no matter how long they've been there. Don't
forget to provide on-going training
for ALL of your employees on a regular basis. We can
always improve the way
we do things. (And, if you have an employee who
doesn't believe this, you've
got a problem.) Hiring people is expensive - keep the
ones you have by investing
in their training.
REGULAR
ASSESSMENTS
Just like fertilizing and pruning your garden on a
regular basis, performance
appraisals are a must. Honest feedback
should be given (both ways.) Action
plans should be formulated for better performance and
kudos given for excellent
performance to ensure the future
"blooming" of your company and employees
alike. These appraisals should be plugged into
your calendar on a periodic
basis and NOT postponed.
WEED
YOUR GARDEN
I wrote about this last
year so I won't belabor the point. In short,
get rid of your non-performers
to make room in your company for people who can
bloom for you. It can be
a painful process but it will be worth the rewards.
Remember, flowers can't
grow and bloom surrounded by weeds.
Little did I know what I was getting into two years
ago. I really had no idea
how much pleasure our garden would bring me.
Besides having beautiful flowers,
tending it has turned out to be a joy. I hope you
feel the same way about
the people in your company.
