PUBLISHER’S LETTER

Lessons from a New Employee

Ihave a twenty-something son who is thirty months into his first full-time job after college. It’s been an education for my wife and me to observe and counsel him during the ups and downs of his first corporate experience. It’s taught us something about young people and a lot about communications. He works as a technician at a luxury automobile dealership owned by a large corporation. His is a highly technical, computer-driven position that is far removed from the “grease monkey” stereotype of years past.

When he first hired on, he sat down with the HR person, who wasn’t much older than him. He was handed a pile of paperwork that we all take for granted, but made his head swirl. W4, 401K, insurance—he didn’t know where to start, and the HR person was little help. This was our first lesson—don’t assume new employees “get it” and be prepared to offer assistance.

The onboarding process was fairly typical. They gave him a list of videos to watch with a deadline to view them. The first month or two he was also assigned to work alongside an experienced technician. Once he settled into his own workspace with his own assigned jobs, he quickly became very accomplished and actually proved to be one of the top technicians in the first year there. All good, right? Not really.

Like any company, he has reported to multiple supervisors. It’s amazing the affect different management and communication styles have on employees. We all know that from personal experience, of course, but observing it and dealing with the negative effects has been enlightening. He’s expressed everything from “my dream job” to “can’t stand it anymore.”

Early on he reported to an individual who, like him, is paid by the job, not by the hour or on salary. If he asked his supervisor about how to do a certain task, he got a sharp “look it up” or “I can’t help you right now” answer. For someone new to the job, who wanted to do the job right, he was often left frustrated. The lesson here is not to put someone in a supervisory position who can’t or doesn’t have an incentive to manage.

After a restructuring of the teams, which seems to happen often, he ended up with a supervisor who had worked his way up from the shop floor to shop foreman over a decade or more. He was someone who managed by edict and seldom praised anyone for his performance. His personality was gruff, which often came across as “yelling” at his team. On the rare occasions the manager smiled or gave an attaboy, life was good. The lesson here is take the time to praise when it’s deserved and provide constructive criticism when necessary. This might be more important for Gen Y employees, but surveys show that employees of all ages are motivated by positive reinforcement from their manager.

Fortunately, he was eventually moved onto another team where he had a supervisor who valued his team members and was not afraid to express his feelings. Perhaps it was not surprising that this manager was in his thirties. When corporate policies were changed, this manager explained the changes and the effect on the team. Sometimes changes were not for the better, but at least the team understood what was happening and had someone to talk to about them. The lesson here is communicate often and don’t let employees wonder about changes in the organization that affect them.

Throughout these past two years, we often heard our son say things like “when I’m a supervisor” and “I’ll never treat people like that.” Eventually, he will be a manager. I only hope he has the insight to practice the lessons he’s learned. Good communications, valuing employees, fair policies, positive reinforcement—all are lessons we can all benefit from.

Jack Trlica Editor and Publisher

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700 Matthews Mint Hill Rd, Ste C Matthews, NC 28105 704-365-5226 office, 704-365-1026 fax EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Jack Trlica JackT@LPportal.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR James Lee, LPC JimL@LPportal.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, DIGITAL Jacque Brittain, LPC JacB@LPportal.com CONTRIBUTORS Robert L. DiLonardo Dave DiSilva Read Hayes, Ph.D., CPP Richard C. Hollinger, Ph.D. Gene Smith, LPC Shane G. Sturman, CFI, CPP David E. Zulawski, CFI, CFE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Kevin McMenimen, LPC KevinM@LPportal.com DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Merek Bigelow MerekB@LPportal.com DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL OPERATIONS John Selevitch JohnS@LPportal.com SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGERS Kat Houston Justin Kemp Karen Rondeau DESIGN & PRODUCTION SPARK Publications info@SPARKpublications.com 704-844-6080 CREATIVE DIRECTOR Larry Preslar

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