Your worst employee is your own fault

Summary

This video script emphasizes the importance of proper onboarding and setting clear expectations to ensure employee success and retention. It suggests that an employee's poor performance could be due to inadequate hiring and training processes. The script outlines three key areas for post-hire success: onboarding, expectations, and context. It provides practical advice on how to verbalize expectations, match job conditions to job descriptions, and give new hires the necessary context to excel in their roles. The speaker shares strategies from their company, Acquisition.com, to effectively onboard remote team members and set them up for a positive work experience.

Takeaways

• 🛠️ Effective onboarding, setting expectations, and providing context are key to employee success and retention.
• 🗣️ Expectations need to be clearly verbalized to employees, ensuring they understand exactly what is required of them.
• 🎯 Employees often come with habits from previous jobs, and it's important to reset expectations for the new role.
• 🚩 Job descriptions must align with the reality of the job to avoid creating a negative experience for new hires.
• 🔄 Repeating the same message in every interview helps ensure employees have clarity on their role and its connection to the business.
• 📅 Setting 30, 60, and 90-day goals collaboratively with employees creates predictability and enhances job security.
• 💡 It's crucial to discuss existing problems in the role with the employee during onboarding to avoid surprises and negative experiences.
• 🏗️ Proper orientation includes both company-specific and role-specific onboarding, covering vision, mission, and technical knowledge.
• 🎯 Context is essential for employees to make informed decisions. This includes understanding why the role exists and how it fits into company goals.
• 🎁 Thoughtful onboarding, including team introductions and personalized gestures like swag, helps new hires feel welcomed and engaged.

Q & A

What are the three key elements mentioned in the script for ensuring a successful onboarding process?

The three key elements mentioned for a successful onboarding process are setting clear expectations, providing context, and onboarding.

How does setting expectations properly influence an employee's performance?

Setting expectations properly influences an employee's performance by aligning their understanding of their role with the company's vision, which can lead to better job satisfaction and retention.

What is the importance of verbalizing expectations during the onboarding process?

Verbalizing expectations is crucial as it ensures that employees understand precisely what is expected of them, which can prevent misunderstandings and ensure that they perform tasks in a way that aligns with the company's standards.

Why is it beneficial to set expectations slightly lower than the actual job conditions?

Setting expectations slightly lower than the actual job conditions can lead to positive surprises for new hires when they find the job to be better than expected, thus increasing their satisfaction and engagement.

What is the role of context in onboarding a new employee?

Context provides new employees with an understanding of why their job exists, the company's values, goals, and culture, which helps them integrate better and perform their role more effectively.

How can discussing problems ahead of time during onboarding benefit a new employee?

Discussing problems ahead of time allows new employees to be aware of the challenges they might face, enabling them to come prepared with solutions and a better understanding of their role in addressing those issues.

What are the two types of context that should be provided to new employees during onboarding?

The two types of context that should be provided are company-specific context, which includes the company's mission, values, and culture, and role-specific context, which includes the job description, department expectations, and the tools and technologies used in the role.

Why is it important for onboarding to mirror the future of the role?

Onboarding should mirror the future of the role to set realistic expectations for new employees about the level of support and autonomy they can expect, which helps in their long-term success and retention.

What are some strategies mentioned in the script to make new hires feel welcomed and set good expectations?

Strategies mentioned include meeting with all leaders, sending a swag package, having a team welcome, offering guidance and recognition, and conducting follow-up meetings with new hires.

How can a proper new hire orientation help in reducing employee churn?

A proper new hire orientation helps in reducing employee churn by providing contextual knowledge of the business and the specific role, setting clear expectations, and making new hires feel valued and integrated into the team.