You are on page 1of 1

How to identify promotable employees Who says onboarding

cant be fun?
H ow does your organize identify
which employees to promote?
For many organizations, promo-
gives you a good snapshot of the
employees leadership potential.
Watch behavior in meetings. Is
Day One of a new job is not typically
associated with fun. New hires usually
spend their first day filling out forms,
tions are random decisions left to the person engaged? Does he focus on meeting co-workers and trying to keep
managers. Thats a mistake and a who is talking? Does he speak spar- their heads above water.
common one. ingly, insightfully and influentially? But some employers choose to
Only 25% of orga-
5 questions to ask enliven their onboarding process with
nizations say their games, quizzes and other activities
Ask yourself the fol-
supervisors provide that inform while they entertain. Here
lowing questions to
good career manage- are some real-life examples that have
assess the employees
ment support to their made onboarding less tedious:
promotability.
employees, accord- Handbook scavenger hunt.
ing to a new Towers 1. Are co-workers con-
fident in the employ- Purpose: Learn key handbook policies.
Watson survey. And Create questions based on what new
a recent Harvard Business Review ees decision-making
and leadership abilities, even if he hires need to know. Give the questions
report says companies that get the one at a time to employees to answer
most productivity out of employees or she doesnt have a management
using the handbook. Award points for
are ones that focus on leadership title?
the right answers.
development for top dogs. 2. Can the employee lead via influ- Fill in the blanks. Purpose:
Use the following tips to recog- ence and persuasion? Reinforce learning during presenta-
nize promotable in-house employees 3. How does the person respond to tions. Prior to orientation presenta-
and manage their advancement: unexpected challenges? tions, hand out a list of incomplete
Turn praise into a mini inter- sentences. Ask new hires to fill in the
4. Can you envision the employee
view. Compliment a top employee blanks with the appropriate information
listening patiently to employees
for excellently completing a difficult as they hear it during the day. Have
problems and handling them in
assignment, and then ask how the the employees discuss and compare
the organizations best interests?
person did it. Sharing the process answers afterwards.
illustrates the employees thinking, 5. Can the person withstand criticism
to make unpopular decisions? Self-guided tours. Purpose:
methods and organizational skills. Emphasize company culture. Let new
Offer a tryout. Ask top perform- Advice: Dont rely solely on the hires tour without escorts. Provide
ers to assign a project to another individual judgments of managers each person with a list of questions to
employee and lead the effort. Tell and executives. Create a profile of the answer based on their observations.
the high-potential worker to send traits desired in promotable employ- Encourage them to talk to employees
you copies of all related emails. This ees and use it to identify them. for answers. After the tour, ask the
new hires to share what they learned.
Employee hunt. Purpose: Learn

What if??? what co-workers do. Give new hires


a list of key employees to find. Ask
newbies to have a short talk with
W hat if you suddenly discovered
the labor pool had completely
dried up and no one would ever
illegal to get rid of employees youve
hiredunless they wanted to leave
or only if you paid them a months
employees about their jobs and secure
signatures.
apply for your job openings again? severance for every month they Picture match. Purpose: Learn
worked for you up to 24 months? co-workers names. Introduce new
1. Would you wish you would have
employees to their team. Later, ask the
hired to higher standards before? 1. Would you hire to higher new hires to match names with pic-
2. Would you have fixed your mis- standards? tures of teammates.
takes faster, i.e., terminated and 2. Would you fix your mistakes faster Final note: Sink or swim onboard-
replaced new hires who werent by terminating and replacing new ing doesnt work. Research shows that
working out as soon as you noticed? hires who arent up to snuff? employees who are part of a high-
3. Would you wish you would have 3. Would you train and manage your quality, structured onboarding program
trained and managed the employ- people differently? are 69% more likely to remain with the
ees you have differently? If you answered yes to any of company after three years than those
If you answered yes to any of the above, why not start today? who are not. Creative onboarding can
the above, why not start today? help reinforce the motivation that new
Now, lets reverse engineer the Source: The Humetrics blog by Mel hires bring on their first day.
situation. What if it suddenly became Kleiman, www.humetrics.com/blog
www.theHRSpecialist.com June 2014 The HRSpecialist 5

You might also like