Wide-Open Welcomes

Dear Uncommon Leaders, 

Are you providing a wide open welcome for new members on your team?

Your Sunday Nugget

This Week's Question:

How much time are you allocating to thinking about the future?

This Week's Challenge: 

I recently was eating in a restaurant dining room and was able to watch a new employee begin their very first day on the job. The person “training” him was distracted and focused on other things going on in the restaurant. She had a script she was giving him that went something like:

“Alright, here’s how it’s gonna go today. You’re going to watch me work the register and I might let you ring some people up, but don’t mess up my drawer. It’s my drawer and we’re all held accountable, ok? Stay right with me. Near the end of the shift I probably will let you work the register while I watch and you should be able to handle it. Sound good?”

He looked like a deer in the headlights! 😳 He was obviously uncomfortable and she didn’t ask him questions or focus on anything that resembled “relationship-building.”

What do you think the chances of him making it are? Sometimes we rush new team members into our system. We expect them to absorb all of the procedures without much time or attention and then we complain about our high turnover. What do we expect?!

I remember reading somewhere years ago that people’s nerves on the first day of a new job are akin to what they feel on their wedding day. If that’s true, we need to focus on the relationship right out of the gate and not just the technical training. We need to make sure they feel welcomed, cared for and to feel like they have someone they can go to with questions. This is called a wide open welcome and my guess is, if we do a good job at this, the chances are much better that they make it.

Your challenge this week is to work on making new team members feel welcome. You help them begin to belong to your organization when you get to know them and take an interest in their story.

This Week's Quote to Ponder:

“A healthy start stacks the deck for a better future.”

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Until next week,

LET'S GO BE UNCOMMON!

W. Kevin Harrison

Founder and Executive Coach

Uncommon Influence