Tips for Employees with New Managers

This post builds on last week's article setting up new managers for success.  Many look to their new manager to set the tone for a working relationship. It's also very important for new employees to be open, build credibility and want the new reporting line to work. Here are some tips if you have a new manager.

For an Employee with a New Manager:

There is comfort in having worked for a manager for a period of time – they know the way you think, they have trust in your abilities, they know the best way to coach you. How do you start all over again?  It’s a scary time but also a great time to grow your skills and be challenged by a new perspective.

Tips:

-          Come in open minded. Your new manager is going to likely operate differently, seek to understand their perspective. Don’t make snap judgments.

-          Ask Questions – this is tied to not making quick decisions or judgments. Ask questions to seek understanding about changes your new manager is making if they aren’t giving you the rationale/background.

-          Deliver results - delivering results with a great attitude is the best way to will build your personal credibility with a new manager.

-          Speak with your current manager about the transition they are completing with your new manager. If you had an open relationship with your previous manager, you can help shape this discussion by highlighting key things that really work in your current relationship

o   If your current manager is unable to have a transition with your new manager, take matters into your own hands. Put together a “get to know me” email with your job description, org chart of your team (if applicable), previous performance review, and current targets/goals. Book time with your new manager to get to know each other and walk through your current work load and goals.

Open conversation & transparency will work well on both sides to create a strong relationship. Good luck!

Have you recently had a new manager? What do you think they did well to support you? What do you think you did well to set your new manager up and make them look good? Reading the above tips, what would you have done differently?

Tips for New Managers

With fast paced moving companies, reporting lines often change due to realignment of departments, promotions or general business needs.  Change creates natural trepidation but also hints at great possibilities. Reporting relationships take time to build from both a manager’s and a direct report’s perspectives. This week’s blog post is for a manager with a new direct report & next week’s will be for an employee who has a new manager.

For a Manager with a New Direct Report:

Getting to know your team is a big challenge. You want to create quick wins and not steamroll new reports with big changes right away. These tips will help you gain credibility and build trust.

-          Listen first. Seek to understand procedures, strategies, organizational charts, and roles/responsibilities of your new team. As a new manager, you are likely eager to make your mark in your new role. First seek to understand why things are done a certain way before barging in with changes.

-          Ask questions - understand what your team thinks works well, how processes align to goals, and ask what they would change. If your team agrees on priorities they are more likely to buy into such change. 

-          Create transparency – talk to your team about your goals/mandate and what you are trying to achieve so they can be part of the solution.

-          Get to know your team – your people are your greatest asset to create quick wins in your new role. Potentially use a questionnaire that they fill out and then book time to review it together. It’s a way to have a little fun, get to know them professionally and start to build a personal relationship. I often use something called a management contract to start this (read here: http://bit.ly/gOr24X). You can ask things like: favourite coffee, morning or afternoon thinker, and then things like strengths, growth opportunities, personal goals, what they like in a manager, etc… Using this to facilitate a conversation can get you going on a great foot right away.

-          Transition from past managers - If you are taking on an employee from another manager within the same organization, book time to do a proper transition. Ask them to share previous performance reviews and tips for management.

-          Talk about your management style – just like you want to get to know your new team, they want to get to know their new manager. Talk about tips for working with you, the working environment you like to create and your plan for the team.

-          Have regular team updates – book a bi-weekly or monthly meeting with your direct reports to discuss your findings, recommended changes & the team’s progress. This will help you create buy in and overall transparency and be viewed as a leader who is creating team work right from the get go!

 

For those who have recently moved into a new role managing a new team, what do you think about the above tips? What helped set off your new relationship for the better and what do you wish you had done differently?

Stay posted for next week's post on tips for employees with new managers.

Talent Management 101

Talent Management is a HOT topic. It is really about managing your talent proactively, aligning talent to organizational values and opportunities, and succession planning to keep your top talent happy at YOUR Company. According to Wikipedia (the best definition source) talent management “refers to the skills of attracting highly skilled worked, of integrating new workers, and developing and retaining current workers to meet current and future business objectives.” As the article calls out, “companies engaging in a talent management strategy shift the responsibility of employees from the HR department to all managers throughout the organization.” HR is a lead player in working with a company’s senior leadership team to align on a talent management strategy but ALL managers must then take accountability for developing their direct reports. Thus, training & organizational education is also a key part of a talent management strategy.  Talent management also goes hand in hand with recruiting so you can acquire the right talent to meet your business needs once you create a language to discuss skill gaps or needs. Talent management is increasingly a point of differentiation as happier employees are more productive and it helps you keep your high performers/high potentials happy and not seeking (or being open) to other opportunities.

The economy is picking up and the market for strong talent is getting hotter than ever. Many companies are failing to bench mark their talent, create guidelines for talent management development, and build succession plans for top performers.  This puts your talent at risk when other’s come calling and puts you in reactive mode dealing with counter offers or potentially being too late in the game to keep your high performers.

Here is Talent Management 101

If this is a hot topic for you, please let me know so I can build out further posts on the topic.

Step 1: Determine bench marks for talent.  What are the key pillars involved in each role & at which level to you want each manager (based on title) to be an expert? This is an exercise in itself that takes time.

Step 2: Make a companywide plan on succession planning & create guidelines for promotions, bonus plans, talent reviews, and learning & development.

Step 3: Internal Talent Review. Work with all of the senior managers to bench mark your employees (aka your talent) & identify the top performers/high potential candidates. Ensure that all managers are aligned. There are many tools/processes/templates out there to help you with this process. This should be an executive/senior manager discussion so you can really compare talent from multiple teams and have a consistent evaluation among all employees. Start with your most senior managers and work your way through each level. HR should manage these conversations.

Step 4: Coach your managers on how to have conversations with all employees – especially those high potential individuals and take them through template succession plans to determine their 1-3 year plans. Work to have a consistent strategy on getting these candidates additional exposure & opportunities based on their long term talent to truly grow them into your company’s future leaders. Templates, training & education is very important at this step as some managers may be leading high potential candidates but they themselves might be more a “steady Eddie” – also people important to keep happy & developed.

Step 5: When new business is secured or a promotion is justified, ensure that you look to those ready & willing candidates who have the right skills & the right aptitude to move into the role. Base your promotions on fit & talent versus things like tenure.

Step 6: Visit your talent review annually to revisit how you are doing on your strategy & re-evaluate your team’s growth over the past year.

Step 7: repeat repeat repeat. Remember that training & development of your managers & support from a strong HR Talent Manager/Lead is very key to lead all of the change management necessary to properly build & execute a strong talent management strategy. This is different way of thinking and thus this strategy will take time and needs alignment between HR and Sr leaders in developing the organizational plan and managing this change for your organization.

There are many assessments/processes out there to support your talent management strategy. Remember to use tools & research research research! Have a plan & then work that plan.

For those of you with existing talent management strategies, what is working? What have you learned? What would you do differently? For those just starting, how are you doing in your planning?

Below is just one visual example of an important talent management strategy as it should include everything from Acquiring Talent, to Developing, Aligning, & Assessing Talent.

Wikipedia definition of Talent Management: http://bit.ly/oDuhlt

Talent Management Process Example <via Taleo>: http://bit.ly/q3q3hE

Millennial Tips to Dress for Success

Office dress codes are not as straight forward as they used to be. It used to be formal, business casual or casual. Now you see companies with dress codes called smart casual, dressy casual, business, dressy chic and the list goes on if they even have a written dress code. No wonder so many millennials/new grads struggle in understanding what is appropriate to wear to the office.

Something to think about is your new company culture. Remember that personal style can be captured within business dress codes; however, your weekend clothing is not always workday appropriate.

The office in which I work has a ‘smart casual’ dress code for everyday office wear and business casual/business for client meetings. When I walk around the office, lots of people are meeting the dress code standards but many young adults struggle with knowing what’s appropriate as we are a young dynamic company. In general millennials tend to be very cutting edge in fashion; however, some fail to recognize what should just be for weekend/evening wear. I, if anything, tend to veer to the conservative side as I would never want my wardrobe to be considered inappropriate or a hindrance in moving my career to the next level.

Here are a few of my tips for new grads in understanding the dress code at their new company:

-     Dress to impress on interview days or your first day. It is always better to be more formally dressed than inappropriate

-     Look at your company culture for dress code cues

-     Ask HR if there is a formal dress code - then actually follow it!

-     Look at what managers 1-2 levels above you are wearing. Dress for the level above you so managers can see you working in a more senior function.

-     Jeans are appropriate if your dress code is dressy/smart/insert other adjective here casual. Ensure you pair them a nice top, jacket & shoes. Sneakers are not business appropriate ever!

-     For the ladies: Skirts/dresses/longer dress shorts are appropriate but ensure your hem line is past your fingertips & cleavage/skin tight clothing has no place at work – you would be shocked how often this one is broken!

Business or smart casual clothing doesn’t have to be boring! How you combine outfits for the office can be a fun way to start your day. You can still show your unique style through a cool laptop bag, unique jewelry/accessories. Have fun with your dress code but don’t try to be such an individual that you don’t seem to fit in or respect that the office is a place for business.

Remember that first impressions count. Remember that a hallway pass-by is sometimes the closest you come to senior management in your new job – remember to make a great impression & show that you are dressed to impress!

Onboarding Existing Employees

The topic of interest this week is the importance of onboarding existing employees – those employees that are joining your team from another division. We recently welcomed an employee to my team at work who had worked in another team for the past year. Though her old & new teams worked closely together, she moved desks, has a new manager, and new responsibilities. We are just so excited to have her.

As her manager and I discussed her training, we also thought about how we could show this excitement and make her first day just as special as we would for a “new” employee. As a best practice for new employees, we always make a welcome sign, bring in a beautiful plant to dress up the new desk or leave a few little favourite treats of the new employee in addition to a first day team lunch.

It got me thinking:  Why don’t we make it a best practice to do this for transitioning employees? The reasons is that most teams & companies don’t take the time to make that first day in the new team just as special as it isn’t viewed as a “first day.”  Well, it should be! The extra effort it takes to welcome someone new to your team is going to pay off big time in how they feel about their transition.

Next time you welcome either a net new employee or an existing employee onto your team, I hope you really make them feel that personalized special welcome!

10 tips to do this:

1.   Create a welcome sign in their favourite colour & have the entire team write a welcome message

2.   Ask them their favourite candy & have a dish of it on their desk

3.   Ensure their favourite colour pens or highlighters are in a cool new pen holder on their desk

4.   Decorate their desk area with streamers, balloons or other fun finds

5.   Have lunch plans for their first day with their new manager & new team members

6.   Have the team make lunch plans (even just to sit in the lunch room) each day of the first week so the new employee can get to know their colleagues

7.   Ensure the employee has some time with the department manager on their first day and day 5 to see how the first week is going

8.   Bring in a coffee for them on their first day in a special mug you bought just for them that they can keep at the office

9.   Welcome them via social media sites if you/they are active in that space

10.  Buy them a cool new notebook for all of those new notes to be captured in  

Remember it doesn’t have to be fancy; the goal is to leave someone with the feeling that you recognize their uniqueness and are so excited to have them on your team. This is especially true with millennial onboarding as they want to feel recognized for the unique individual they are and what they will bring to your team.

I leave you with a photo of my team welcoming our newest team member & a quote from Maya Angelou:

"I've learned that people will forget what you said,

 people will forget what you did,

but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Art of Listening

In a managers hope to guide and support their direct reports, they often forget the power of listening! I think that managers often want to stop their employees from making similar learning mistakes they made – but is this the right thing to do? Isn’t self realization more powerful than being told what to do!? Let’s just think back to a parent-teenager moment and when told what you do, you (the angry teenager) likely acted in the opposite way!  Let’s learn from the past & learn the art of Active Listening.

As a manager, asking the right open ended probing questions and guiding a direct report in a certain direction is a better technique than just directing. However, asking & listening is a WAY more difficult skill than just telling. As those who know me well, I’m a bit of a total talker so my natural premonition is just to TELL. I have to push back this part of my nature and instead focus on active listening traits I have nurtured like asking, clarifying, & confirming. By asking, being comfortable with silence (and not feeling the need to fill those silent moments) and being fully present (versus thinking of the million things on my to do list etc), I can be a better manager.

A few inspirational ideas & quotes:

-          Think of an 80-20 rule in terms of the ratio to listening versus talking in a coaching/management moment

-          “To listen well, is as powerful a means of include as to talk well, and is an essential to all true conversation.” – Chinese proverb

-          "Seek first to understand, then to be understood" – Steven Covey

-          "I can't hear the words you speak for your actions are deafening" - Unknown

How do you practice active listening? What are the best questions you use as a manager? Alternatively, what are the best questions one of your favourite managers has asked you to take a different perspective on a tough matter?

Setting Leaders up for Success with Manager Contracts

Years ago I learned the importance of setting expectations between managers & new employees through the tough lesson of not asking the right questions on management style of a new employee. I had managed an employee through a 16 week full time summer contract and they were one of the most pessimistic people I had ever worked with. I felt like I was constantly trying to keep him and his teammates motivated as his attitude seeped onto others.  At the end of the program, I sat down with the employee to do their evaluation and so many discussions points came out I wish I had known from day 1. I realized I was trying to drive positivity and results by challenges and incentives – I thought this was motivating to him as had a very competitive nature & always rose to win the challenge. In the review, it came out that he didn’t feel motivated on the program as he wanted increased responsibility to grow additional skills. At first I was frustrated with him – why didn’t he tell me this at some point over the 16 week program? Then, I stepped back and realized that as his manager, this onus was on ME to ask the right questions!

Though it was a tough 16 weeks, I learned a very important lesson that summer as a new people manager. I now believe that as a manager you should be a chameleon and adapt your management style to those that report to you. From this situation, I developed something I call the “Manager Contract.” It is a 2 page document that everyone I work with fills in as it facilitates a discussion on what we both need to have a successful working relationship. I personalize them to each and every direct report.  

The document is broken into 2 sections: section 1 is on expectations for each of us in our roles and section 2 is open ended questions around the topic of personalized coaching. In the expectation section, it reviews the top 15-20 expectations I have for that person in their role. This includes things like answering voicemails/emails within 24 hours and then specifics about team management, problem solving, being a role model etc. Following my expectations on them, it then reviews the expectations they should have of me as their manager. This is a 2-way relationship after all!

My favourite part of the contract is actually part 2, which is about personalized management. I typically keep these open ended questions the same for all direct reports though may edit out a few if that employee is not a people manager. I ask questions like:

-          My best working environment includes

-          I need the following from my manager

-          My goal in my role is

-          My personal career goal is

-          My strengths are

-          My growth opportunities are

-          I will be the following type of leader
-         Etc

I then include a section where I, the manager, answer similar questions about:

-          My best working environment includes

-          I need from those who report to me

-          I will help you achieve your goals/successes by

The process is that I create the template of the contract and then forward it to my direct report to personalize and send back to me. We then have a meeting to walk through the document and set ourselves up for success in our new working relationship. This is a living breathing document so if one member feels the other isn’t keeping up their end of the bargain, then we can pull it out and review; we also refresh/update the contract every 6 months as projects and priorities change. 

I learned my lesson about asking the right questions a LONG time ago and for over 7 years I have had a management contract with every single direct report. I now use the contract more as a reminder of the right questions for myself but use it as a great tool for all of my direct reports who are managers as it sets them up for success with new direct reports.

What do you do to set up new managers and direct reports for success? Do you coach your teams to ask the right questions? Do you want your managers to tailor their style to direct reports or vice versa? Remember templates act as a guide and are a great training tool for new managers!

Upcoming Series: Overview of Do's and Don'ts with Social Media and Recruiting

I just finished editing my presentation for the Campus Recruiting Forum happening in Waterloo on Tuesday November 30th, 2010 I and in Calgary on Thursday December 2nd, 2010. I can't wait!

I am speaking on the topic of social media & recruiting. I will be providing an overview on why social media is important for a company to use in their recruiting plan & will also provide do's and don'ts for each site like: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and YouTube.

I am thinking of creating my first Blog Series that recaps some of those learnings & helps provide a quick guide to using social media & recruiting. I am also considering then extending the concept into a 2nd Series recapping these similar sites but how to use in Onboarding (which I think is the hottest new use for social media).

Intriguing? Interested? What would you like to see in these 2 series?

Want to see me speak? Register for the Campus Recruiting Forum at: http://www.campusrecruiting.ca/home.htm

Promising the World: Marrying Recruiting & Onboarding

Recruiting and Onboarding must be: Transparent, Realistic, Authentic, Set Realistic Expectations and Deliver on Promises. Seems so simple doesn’t it!? Why, then, are so many employers falling short in delivering on the promises made during the recruiting process in an employee’s first 90 days!? Read on for some tips to marry recruiting & onboarding.

My background is in marketing but my current position is in recruitment. Recently I have become intrigued with the role onboarding plays within the field of Talent Management. I look to marketing for trends in how to build a loyal customer, or in my case, an engaged employee. One of the biggest lessons in marketing is to deliver on brand promises. Let’s say you purchase a bad product, a real lemon, you are not likely to purchase the product ever again – right!? In today’s day and age of social media, you do not want to get a bad reputation in the workplace. Today employees don’t bat an eye at writing up tweets, facebook posts or using websites like Glassdoor to rate their experiences.

Companies promise the world to secure the right employees. However, recruiting & onboarding are typically run by different individuals and sometimes different departments. Companies need to be careful not to overpromise in recruiting and under deliver in the first 90 days. You have gone to a lot of hard work to source, interview & offer a great candidate. Don’t put all of your hard work to waste. If you do not meet these expectations in your orientation (first week) & onboarding process (first 90 days) you lose engagement. Ensure that your recruiting & onboarding programming is connected so you deliver on promises made in hooking those fabulous new hires. Engaged employees = productive employees!

Helpful? Questions?

10 Quick Tips on Onboarding New Employees

I recently spoke at a conference about using New Hires Perspectives in your Onboarding Process. For the sake of learning, I choose 10  tips from my 90 minute presentation to share here (and on twitter)for quick things you can implement ASAP to improve your onboarding process.  Remember that onboarding goes beyond initial training/orientation as it includes the first 90 days of a new hire's employment as candidates are most likely to leave a new employer during this period.  Get engaged hires faster by checking out the below 10 onboarding tips:

 Tip #1 - Recruiting promises + onboarding = engaged or disengaged new hires!? We promise the world in recruiting; ensure your onboarding program delivers! So often recruiting & onboarding are run by different departments or individuals; ensure that these owners of these aspects work together so you deliver on recruiting promises in the first 90 days of a new hires employment.

Tip #2 - Do not have a uniform onboarding program. The demographics of your new hire + their role will impact HOW you should onboard them! Would you really onboard a new executive and a millennial in their first job in the same way? NO!  Don’t make the same mistake in assuming that Gen X or boomers (with lots of work experience) don’t need onboarding as they have experience. Onboarding is about educating an employee about your company’s culture and setting them up for success in their new role

Tip #3 - Millennials, Gen Y, Gen X, baby boomers, executives all have different values for onboarding. Great article here by Madeline Laurano on what you should include in each generation’s onboarding: http://bit.ly/bHjCEH. Key takeaways: ensure that you use mediums that make sense to the age groups. Social media is key as part of your onboarding strategy for millennials & Gen Y.

Tip #4 - Poll your new hires/ search social media sites (via a listening strategy) to gain insights on where your onboarding delivered/needs improvement. Do regular check-ins with your new hires – day 5, day 30, 60 and 90.

Tip #5 - Action feedback from new hires to improve onboarding processes & let them know the actions you have taken! Though they may not have felt engaged about a part of the process, you will re-engage them by letting them know you heard them and have changed the process.

Tip #6 - Onboarding goes beyond orientation. Orientation= first 1-5 training days; onboarding = first 90 days of employment! Don't forget about a new hire after the first week - ensure you have regular check-ins and support for them ongoing.

Tip #7 - Effective onboarding programming = in-person orientations/buddies + technological solutions

Tip #8 - 40% of newly promoted managers fail within 18 months of starting new jobs. Know potential pitfalls & build plans to combat them. Great article from John G. Agno here about Executive onboarding: http://bit.ly/bT8kkI

Tip #9- Onboarding is about connecting your new hires to the company culture; create a community ON & OFFline

Tip #10 - Remember onboarding is all worth it as you will ALL be successful with an engaged + productive team!

Please let me know which of these tips spoke to you the most & the results of implementing it into your onboarding program!

Same Company, Different Enviroment: Culture Shock?

Most of my career, to date I should add, has been spent as a remote employee. This is my fourth week officially working in my company’s headquarters in Toronto. Though I have worked for the same company for 10 years, it is amazing the culture shock that comes with moving from a home office to a head office. Just getting up in the morning, getting dressed, hair done, packing a lunch, commuting into the office, working with people walking by your desk, the sheer volume of meetings … and the list goes on. I am very lucky that I have friends at work who have gone through the same thing and can provide a sounding board on how to adjust.

Here’s what I have learned moving from a home office to headquarters:

Learning #1: My time is more stretched now in head office due to more in person meetings. While working remotely I was better able to multitask while on conference calls to accomplish more things on my plate. Was this good or bad? Jury’s still out on this one.

Learning #2: Due to time differences, I used to end my day with 2 full hours without emails/meetings/phone calls. This was a great way to wrap up my day making check marks on my ‘to do’ list. Now I am working on the same time zone as the majority of my colleagues. How am I adjusting?  I am working on better delegating and distributing workloads within my team. I am blocking time in my calendar for getting projects done. I am also being more critical of my attendance in meetings to ensure that I absolutely need to be there or determine if someone else could attend.

Learning #3: Building relationships is much better in person than on the phone. Those little drop by’s about a project or an update allow me to be a stronger manager in knowing the little wins & challenges my team face on a daily basis. I love this part of my changing environment! When working remotely, I tried to meet a colleague for a coffee/lunch every few weeks to stay in touch with the team, get out of the office & get some “water cooler time” – it was something I actually had to schedule in. I love that this happens now as a part of my daily routine without even trying.

Only a few weeks in, so these are just a few of my learnings… more to come about onboarding an employee moving office locations and creating engagement with remote employees. 

I would love to get your thoughts: has anyone else made this change or gone from a headquarters to a remote home office? What were your learnings, challenges, frustrating, wins & tips?

To Mentor or Not? Developing & Participating in Mentorship Programs

Mentorship is a tricky subject as it relies on absolute buy-in from the mentee and the mentor. The best organizations out there have formalized mentorship programs as part of onboarding, talent management and employee engagement best practices. My advice is that not everyone is a natural mentor so some formalized training & a program kick off will likely set your program up for success!

Here are some of my thoughts on mentorship:

-         Planning out a program including your vision, training & assigning mentors is key. Plan your program versus just jumping in without a clear plan and vision

-         If someone doesn't want to participate in a mentorship program, forcing them is not going to inspire them to take advantage of this great opportunity. Focus on making the opportunities available, educating your employees on the benefits and then leaving it to be a personal choice if they would like to partake

-         Assigning the right mentee to mentor is very important. Ensure that mentees have a say in their mentor. Have parameters like level differences, geographical location & work focus in assigning mentors & mentees. Find out what’s important to your employees

-         Training your mentors on how to be a mentor is important. Not everyone is a natural coach!

-         Confidentiality is key. Mentorship programs are not to glean who is unhappy in an organization but is about providing confidential coaching and being a safe sounding board to have happier employees

-         Mentors need to prompt their mentees to come to the meeting with a list of topics or a situation they want to discuss. Mentors should actively listen & ask lots of probing questions. Don’t just tell your mentees what they ‘should’ have done but work through the situation together

-         Mentoring needs to be a priority for those involved in the program. It is very easy to cancel a mentor meeting in the face of a client deadline, but what kind of message is this to your mentee about the importance of their development? Time management and prioritization is key if you are involved in a mentorship relationship

I’m a big believe in being & having mentors. Providing guidance to others builds my management and coaching skills & I honestly learn from them just as, I hope, they learn from me!   I personally have a work mentor but I also have a couple of people in my life who are my informal mentors. When I meet someone who inspires me, I talk to them about potentially playing a mentorship role in my life. I like having different points of view, different sounding boards and choose people I respect, admire and have traits/skills I hope to learn from them.  In terms of your own mentorship, grab the bull by the horns as no one is going to drive your own development but YOU!

Do you have a fabulous mentor in your life? What makes them great? Please comment below to get the dialogue on this topic started!