Three sure-fire ways to sabotage your new hire

EDITOR’S NOTE:
If you like what you see here, check out the longer version of this article published in Inside Indiana Business.

Are you inadvertently undermining the success of your new hire? Here are three common mistakes employers make in the early stages of onboarding.

1. Fail to prepare work essentials.
   Before your employee sets foot on your grounds, make sure you have everything ready that he needs to perform his job: ID, desk, computer, phone, security codes, email address, system logins, parking pass and so on. A tiny welcome gift is also a nice touch—anything from a note on his desk to a company T-shirt.

2. Keep the new hire’s arrival a secret.
   Make sure you inform the front desk and the new hire’s department of the employee’s start date. Designate someone to meet her in the lobby, and make sure her manager or supervisor is available to spend some time with her the first day.

3. View onboarding as a one-time event.
   According to TTI Success Insights, the onboarding process should last six months. It should be personal, purposeful and focused on setting up your employee for success.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP
To learn more about onboarding or see if you qualify for a free assessment, contact:

Tom Moellering, president
tmoellering@moellering.com
888-906-4111, x302
moellering.com

Are you rowing or steering? Part 2 of 2

In our last blog post below, we discussed whether you’re rowing or steering your business and said it depends on which way you’re facing.

Today, we want to give you simple sentence to remember the difference. Read each sentence below and note the preposition (short italicized word).

Rowing: You work IN the business instead of ON the business.

Steering: You work ON the business instead of IN the business.

If you’re rowing, you’re bogged down in the day-to-day operations of your business. In contrast, if you’re steering, you’re in the ideal position to take it to the next level. Which sentence best describes you?

TAKE THE NEXT STEP
To learn more about rowing versus steering or see if you qualify for a free assessment, contact:

Tom Moellering, president
tmoellering@moellering.com
888-906-4111, x302
moellering.com

Are you rowing or steering? Part 1 of 2

Look closely at this picture. What do you see? A speedboat and a rowboat, right?

These two boats symbolize two very different approaches to running your business—and it all comes down to the 1) direction you’re facing and 2) what you’re focusing on.

For instance, if you’re rowing, you’re positioned so that you’re always looking backward. Steering, on the other hand, puts you forward facing and in the driver’s seat, focusing on future opportunities. Think of the implications for your business.

Rowing makes you tired and grouchy. Steering invigorates. What business boat are you in today?

TAKE THE NEXT STEP
To learn more about rowing versus steering, or to see if you qualify for a free assessment, contact:

Tom Moellering, president
tmoellering@moellering.com
888-906-4111, x302
moellering.com

When’s the Best Time to Plan My Week?

The best time is Friday morning from 8-9 a.m.

During that hour, be unavailable to everyone but yourself. Tell your administrative assistant that you’re “in conference.” Yes, “in conference” with yourself!

Choose to honor that appointment as faithfully as you would an appointment with your best customer.

Friday is the one day when you can objectively review the week’s activities. The phone rings less frequently, and you often have fewer appointments and interruptions. Fridays also give you the chance to look ahead—to identify any potential schedule problems looming for the coming week.

This winter, try blocking an “hour of power” on Friday mornings. See for yourself how a consistent “one-to-one” conference can prove invaluable.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP
To learn more about coaching or see if you qualify for a free assessment, contact:

Tom Moellering, president
tmoellering@moellering.com
888-906-4111, x302
moellering.com

To Plan or Not to Plan, that is the Question

By Carl Moellering

When asked about planning, the famed comedian Will Rogers said, “Planning is critical… cause you gotta remember to always drink upstream from the herd.”

I think all of us would ascribe to the Will Rogers thoughts about planning. The urge to plan comes after we’ve tasted the water ” below the herd” and decided is not what we want. Suddenly, planning takes on a new urgency.

I remember the first strategic planning exercise that I attempted when I owned a construction company. We hired a well-known Chicago firm and they came in and developed pages and pages of useless material in big binders. The fee they charged was astronomical. The binders stayed on the shelf gathering dust.

I decided there had to be a more effective way to strategic planning. For me, it started with understanding the purpose of developing the strategic plan.

Simply stated, it is simply good business practice. The purpose is to be able to develop the best overall course for the organization and proactively determine how we can best utilize and maximize our resources.

Next, it is vitally important to remember that this is a continuous process. Not only is it a continuing process, but it is a learning process for the entire organization. The business plan and the budget must be derivatives of the strategic plan.

In short, a good strategic plan answers these questions:
• What are the results needed to accomplish and follow our vision?
• What products and services do we offer to meet these results?
• What products and services should we be offering in the future?
• How can we best maximize our resources?

The outcome should be a handful of strategies that the business can undertake over the next one to three years.

The benefits are that the business will become more on to the oriented and the team of more focused. The process itself builds team spirit and morale. A good facilitated process should encourage stretch among the people and consensus among the team.

Our facilitated process is designed be very interactive, focused on results, and produces useable strategies that can position your organization for the future. It is your way to “drink upstream from the herd.”