You've made your choice, extended an offer and received the response you want: It's a deal.
Congratulations. Now the hiring process enters an important new stage: introductions and expectations.
It's easy to overlook those closest to the job. Remember to introduce your newest colleague to your veteran staff, to the managers working with you, and to key customers, vendors and departments working with the new hire. Create an opportunity for colleagues to form business relationships. Getting started can be as easy as arranging a lunch where new colleagues get to know one another -- but it can't end there.
Regular weekly or bi-weekly meetings during which each employee reports his or her accomplishments or progress toward goals can also be good learning opportunities and can help the new employee understand how he or she fits in with the team.
You are the manager. You set the direction. Remember to clarify and confirm your expectations. You hired the new employee expecting that person would fulfill certain goals. Have you written them?
Checklist Guide to Goal WritingS.M.A.R.T. goals are the specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, timed goals by which you will measure the employee’s performance. Use the following checklist:
- What are the goals of the company and of your department?
- How might they change during the year and what flexibility should be built into these goals?
- How does this job fit into those goals?
- What specifically do you expect the employee to do, by when and with what quantitative results? On the business side, criteria might include things like revenue produced, new accounts established or customers served. In news, measurements might include enterprise work published, sources established or lead stories generated.
- Are these goals realistic?
- How will you provide coaching along the way?
- What will you set up as interim measurements to ensure there is progress toward these goals?
- What coaching will you provide to ensure goal compliance?
Begin with the end in mind. SMART goals establish your expectations for the probationary and annual performance review. Few things are more difficult when managing employees than trying to write a performance appraisal at the end of the year without specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, timed goals to assess the employee’s performance.
Next week: Orientation can make or break the new hire.
