Five years ago, my husband Don and I noticed that our eight-year-old female Golden Retriever, Cleo, was getting a bit lazy! Our children were all grown and gone from the house and we thought Cleo was bored and probably lonely as well. We decided it was time to find Cleo a friend (all right – so there was a little arm twisting involved!).

We decided on a male terrier – a Scottie. We found one at a breeder in New York and picked up our little black bundle of joy, all of four months old. We named him “Duffy.” We were giddy and delighted – and totally unprepared for what was to come!

Cleo greeted us at the door like a pit bull out for the kill! (Sorry all you pit bull owners.) Her hackles were up and her teeth were bared. We had never seen anything like this from our docile, sweet Golden.

For three days Cleo carried on snarling, growling and generally threatening in any way she could. On the fourth day Cleo finally started to relent and by the end of the first week, she was allowing Duffy to sit next to her.

Would you believe I have seen this same situation in companies! I have seen hiring managers mistakenly assume that their employees—the people on their team—would be delighted to have an addition. But, for whatever reason, that wasn’t the case.

I write about this now because many of you have been constrained in hiring over the past few years. And because of this, your existing employees have been doing more than one job. Now that it’s time to add to the head count, some members of your team may feel ambivalent or, quite frankly, even threatened about it. It’s just human nature (or doggy nature—take your pick!).

So, here are a few tips on how you can successfully introduce a new member to your team and avoid anyone getting their hackles up:

Share Your Plan

What we couldn’t do with Cleo that you can do is explain to her how it was in her best interest to have a friend. If you are expanding a marketing or sales department, show your existing employees your “master plan.” If you are taking a department from 1 to 2 or from 20 to 30, let your employees see how they fit in the plan.

And, this is important - have the details worked out beforehand! This is especially critical if you are adding to a sales team. Make sure that if you are dividing a territory, changing a vertical focus, etc. that you do this BEFORE the hiring process starts and that you give your existing salespeople ample notice and explanation of your plan.

Show them how it is in their best interest to welcome an additional salesperson. (For example, more focus on growing existing accounts; smaller, more concentrated territory; less travel; or even just the fun of having another person selling and the exchange of leads and ideas, etc.)

Involve Your Team in Interviews

While the final decision is always yours, have your top candidates meet briefly with members of your team during the interview process. Give each person who will be meeting the candidate a specific topic or issue to talk to the candidate about. (Click here for more tips on involving your team.) This involvement goes a long way towards fostering enthusiasm for the new hire.

Make It a “Fait Accompli”

The decision to hire is yours – not your team’s. Have your plan and present it. Let there be no doubt that the plan will be executed. I’m sure Cleo thought that with enough intimidation she might have gotten rid of this pesky little Scottie. But, we were determined—and so should you be!

It’s Been a Life-Saver
As we predicted, having a companion has been wonderful for Cleo. Cleo and Duffy are fast friends and don’t go anywhere without each other. More importantly, Don and I really believe that Duffy has kept Cleo’s enthusiasm for life going. In the past eighteen months Cleo has had two very serious illnesses, both of which were life threatening. But, she pulled through and this month will be celebrating her 13th birthday – a ripe old age for a Golden!

Have you ever brought someone on board that your team wasn’t happy with? Click here to tell us how you handled it.