|
|
|
Business Transactions in Germany – How to TRIPLE Your Success!
Would you like to double, yet TRIPLE your business success in Germany? Do you consider doing business in Germany? Read on to find out what you can do to accomplish that. No, I'm not going to talk about "how to give a successful powerpoint...
Crunch Time: Don't Forget the Upfront Stuff
Crunch Time: Don’t Forget the Upfront Stuff What time is it… if you have two minutes to go and your team is down by 10 points? What time is it…if your presentation to the biggest possible client and sale you’ve ever had is due in two days? What...
Ways To Find A Successful Home Business
Work from home. These days it seems as though everyone is talking about these three words. If you don’t understand the critical factors that make a home business successful – you will fail to find a business that has the potential of delivering you...
What's Your Client's Style?
When it comes to effective selling, one simple fact never changes: Selling is a relationship business. You already know all about your company’s products and services – and you’ve learned the fundamental aspects of the sales cycle. But have you...
Why PR is a Vital Force
Because it can alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors. Something of profound importance to businesses, non-profits and associations who can sink or swim on how well they employ this crucial dynamic. Consider this simple...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Red Carpet Treatment
The First 90 Days The Red Carpet Treatment
Remember your first few days at your present job? Were you
excited? Nervous? Did you worry about your ability accomplish
the tasks given to you or the impression you would make on your
new co-workers? Perhaps you were concerned about the impression
your new co-workers would make on you.
You would not be alone if you were feeling a little lost during
your probationary period. Many people do. Since you know how it
feels to be "the new kid on the block" you may be the perfect
person to welcome other new employees to the fold. Regardless of
your job title, you can help to make the difference between
whether a new recruit stays or leaves within the first 90 days.
Studies have consistently shown that each time an employee
leaves it costs between 50% - 150% percent of that employee's
salary to replace them. Companies often find that much of their
voluntary turnover happens within the first 90 days of
employment. If this is the case in your company, the first thing
to look at is your hiring process. Are you hiring people who fit
with your company's culture? As Joan Brannick, Ph.D. and Jim
Harris Ph.D., authors of Finding and Keeping Great Employees
say, "Employees can find a job anywhere, but they commit to and
want to remain with an organization whose culture they connect
with."
If you are convinced that you are hiring the people who "fit"
with your company, then it may be time for The Red Carpet
Treatment. Traditionally, a red carpet is laid out as a
welcoming symbol to dignitaries in other countries, or
superstars attending award shows. Why not treat your new
superstar's arrival as something truly special by setting out
your own red carpet? Here are some immediately applicable ideas
you can use to welcome your new recruit to the fold.
Before The First Day
Send a letter welcoming your new team member to the fold.
Include an agenda for their "premiere day" and an invitation to
have lunch with the boss.
Dwayne Clarke of Aegis Corporation sends letters to the family
members of senior executives he brings on board. He welcomes the
family to the company and lists specifically the qualities their
loved one possesses that got them the job.
Be sure to set up realistic expectations of what the job
entails. As Brannick says, "If you are losing people during the
first 90 days The problem could be that you are creating
unrealistic/inaccurate expectations during the recruiting/hiring
process that are NOT met during the first 3-4 months on the job."
Prepare your current employees for their new co-workers
arrival, asking them to be particularly encouraging and
supportive.
Survey your current employees about their first day on the job.
What would have made it special? Make preparations using their
suggestions.
The Premiere
Be ready for your new superstar's arrival. Don't leave them
waiting out in the hallway alone for 15 minutes while you take
care of other business.
If you, as their supervisor, do find yourself involved in other
things when they arrive, appoint an ambassador to welcome the
new recruit with a smile and a cup of coffee.
Why not literally lay the red carpet out? Go ahead, have some
fun!
Plan to spend the first part of the day with your new person.
Go over the agenda you sent, make changes as needed - plan your
day together.
Make it clear this is a special day. Serve refreshments and add
a welcome sign to the front door.
Post the person's photo in the employee break room. Having a
book or board with other employees' photos (or at least
department heads) will enable him/her to get to know names
without being put in the embarrassing situation of having to ask
twice.
Have your new team members work area prepared. Do they have all
the office supplies they need? How about a list of contact phone
numbers? Flowers or balloons on the desk or locker for the first
day would be a welcome touch.
Provide free lunch for a week.
Offer a form that the new employee can voluntarily fill out,
listing their hobbies and favorites. In other words, find out
who the person is as a human being. Then be sure to introduce
him/her to other co-workers with similar interests.
Orientation
Take a look at your orientation process. Are you guilty of
showing boring training videos and calling that orientation?
Strive to make your training process more effective. Use real
people. Take your time. A good orientation can not be
accomplished in 1 day.
Make it fun. Turn your orientation process into a game show
format with candy and prizes. Send your new recruit on
a
scavenger hunt, asking them to collect signatures of other
employees.
If you absolutely must show those boring training videos, at
the very least serve popcorn and a soda.
Or......make the videos fun. According to Nuts! Southwest
Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success by
Kevin and Jackie Freiberg, new Southwest Airlines' employees get
treated to a video taped rap song led by former CEO Herb
Kelleher during their orientation.
During the first week, check in periodically to make sure the
new employee is comfortable performing their job duties. Listen
to and address their concerns.
Be Friendly and Patient. Use diplomacy when correcting errors.
More importantly, notice the things they are doing well and
praise them out loud.
Ask your new recruits to evaluate the orientation process and
strive to continually improve it.
Co-worker Support
Remember the Welcome Wagon. When a new neighbor moved into a
community, a smiling face would appear at their door with a
basket of goodies and a warm welcoming smile. When a new
employee joins your company they become part of your community.
Why not bring the Welcome Wagon concept back on the job? When
people work together for a long time, there is a tendency to get
close. This is a good thing, except that it makes it difficult
for a new employee to feel part of the group. If employees are
leaving your company within the first 90 days, exit interviews
may reveal that they simply did not feel they fit in. Current
employees can do a lot to change that perception and ensure the
new "community member" feels immediately welcomed.
Establish a red carpet committee. These are current employees
who volunteer to be ambassadors for new employees. Hold a
brainstorming session and come up with as many ways as you can
to make the new person feel special during their first 90 days.
Put together a "Welcome Wagon Basket." Include the fun stuff -
a list of nearby restaurants, fun toys for the office, snacks,
humor, etc. Get creative. Have one of the Ambassadors deliver it.
Assign an Ambassador to your new employee. Post a sign that
states "Your Welcome Ambassador is....." at their work station.
The Ambassador should proactively check in with the employee for
the first 30 days, invite him/her to lunch and introduce him/her
to other co-workers and customers.
Ambassadors should be upbeat and positive about themselves, the
company and the job.
Host a monthly potluck or breakfast to welcome new employees to
the fold.
Ask co-workers to make a positive memory for new employees. For
instance, provide post it notes™ that co-workers can write
welcoming phrases on and stick them all over the new person's
work station.
Encourage every employee to develop their own personal Red
Carpet Policy. Spend a staff meeting coming up with as many
ideas as possible for welcoming new people.
Evaluate your current employees on how well they welcome new
employees.
Once you've welcomed a new employee securely into the fold,
invite that person to be part of the Red Carpet Committee and
spread the enthusiasm.
Finally, ask yourself, when the 90 days is up how do we keep
that red carpet out. Do we continually reward and recognize
employees? Do we strive to care about them as human beings and
not just employees? Do we continually ask for feedback and try
to improve? As co-workers, do we refrain from gossip and try to
work out our differences in an amiable way?
If you are hiring well, laying out the red carpet and keeping it
out for the long haul, you may find that employee turnover
lessens and superstar spirit just grows and grows. Never miss an
opportunity to say - "Welcome. We're glad you're here."
© 2004 by Donna Cutting
Donna Cutting is a speaker and consultant who helps managers
create places where employees get standing ovations and
customers get star treatment. She can be reached via her web
site at www.donnacutting.com.
Note: This copyrighted article may be reproduced for your
company newsletter or publication if you add the by-line above
including the author's web site. A copy of the issue that this
article appears in is appreciated by the author. You may send it
to: ShowStopping Solutions, PO Box 76461, St. Petersburg, FL ,
33734
About the author:
Donna Cutting is a speaker and author who helps leaders create
places where employees get Standing Ovations and customers get
Star Treatment. Company and Association audiences enjoy her
presentation of immediately implementable ACTION steps delivered
in an upbeat, fun and interactive style. She is otherwise known
as Gal Morale.
|
|
|
|
|
| Oral Presentation Advice |
| Your presentation should not replace your paper, but rather whet the ... Below I consider goals for academic interview talks and class presentations. ... |
| www.cs.wisc.edu |
|
| Presentation Skills |
| This site contains annotated links to resources concerned with presentation and communication skills. |
| lorien.ncl.ac.uk |
|
| Presentation Helper - Free PowerPoint templates, help, advice and ... |
| Resources on how to make effective presentations. Includes tips on PowerPoint and topic ideas. |
| www.presentationhelper.co.uk |
|
| Neurobehavioral Systems, Inc. |
| Neuroscience stimulus delivery software can be used for cognitive psychology, fMRI, erp and single unit research (Windows). |
| nbs.neuro-bs.com |
|
| Why tables for layout is stupid: problems defined, solutions offered |
| Why tables for layout is stupid:. problems defined, solutions offered. Tables existed in HTML for one reason: To display tabular data. ... |
| www.hotdesign.com |
|
| The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation |
| This presentation prepared with the help of Microsoft Powerpoint Autocontent Wizard. ... Permission is granted to use this presentation in any course or ... |
| norvig.com |
|
| Presentation Zen |
| I love the clear presentation of the ideas in the book and the fact that the ... In the context of presentations, moving info away can help you and the ... |
| www.presentationzen.com |
|
| Presentation Tips for Public Speaking |
| Better Public Speaking & Presentation - Ensure Your Words Are Always ... On the Job: Public Speaking Tips - Twelve Steps to Great Presentations by Elise ... |
| www.aresearchguide.com |
|
| Presentation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Presentation is the process of presenting the content of a topic to an ... You should plan to rehearse your presentation out loud at least four times. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| OSCON 2005 Keynote - Identity 2.0 |
| “A barn-burner of a presentation. I loved this.” - Cory Doctorow. “I watched it twice, and greatly enjoyed it both times.” - Jon Udell ... |
| www.identity20.com |
|
| Presentations - Effective Communication - Public Speaking |
| Tips and tools for creating and delivering presentations: text, techniques and technology. |
| www.presentations.com |
|
| Presentation Information Resources - Presentation Technology News ... |
| Presentation Information Resources - Comprehensive presenter's resource providing instant access to up-to-date information on technology and techniques for ... |
| 199.249.170.231 |
|
| Effective Presentations homepage |
| In addition, the skills needed to prepare an oral presentation can be used ... A spiffy presentation discussing Effective Teaching with Powerpoint from the ... |
| www.kumc.edu |
|
| Impress |
| Your presentations will stand out with 2D and 3D clip art, special effects, animation, ... Slide show Animation and Effects bring your presentation to life. ... |
| www.openoffice.org |
|
| PRESENTATIONPRO - experts for Microsoft PowerPoint |
| A series of products and services to help enhance PowerPoint presentations with templates and backgrounds. |
| www.presentationpro.com |
|
| Leadership - Presentation Skills |
| Presentation, PowerPoint, and Leadership. ... Presentations and reports are ways of communicating ideas and information to a group. But unlike a report, ... |
| www.skagit.com |
|
| Presentation: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with presentation on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
|
| Secretary of State Addresses the U.N. Security Council |
| My friends, this has been a long and a detailed presentation. And I thank you for your patience. But there is one more subject that I would like to touch on ... |
| www.whitehouse.gov |
|
| Rubric |
| Organization, Audience cannot understand presentation because there is no sequence of information. Audience has difficulty following presentation because ... |
| www.ncsu.edu |
|
| Presentation Skills |
| Presentations are one of the first managerial skills which a junior engineer ... This article looks at the basics of Presentation Skills as they might apply ... |
| www.see.ed.ac.uk |
|
|