Friday, November 6, 2015 « the western weekender
BUSINESS O Opportunity might take two or three times to knock tw
Getting the induction procedure right
Michelle Grice // Founder of Shel Design
Michael Todd // Western Sydney Business Centre
0412 701 147 | info@sheldesign.com.au
4721 5011 | michael@wsbusiness.com.au
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was watching a program on television recently concerning the rise of videos, and in particular, viral videos (those that become enormously popular by being shared unprompted on social media and the Internet in general). It focused on YouTube and gave a short history of how the founders of YouTube got started. In short, their first attempts at launching a video platform were dismal – they posted a video and it received one view! They tried a few other changes to their idea and after a few false starts, YouTube quickly became one of the fastest growing sites on the web. About one year after launching, Google bought YouTube for US$1.65billion! Imagine if the founders of YouTube, sitting in their garage with their new idea, had given up after that first attempt? Instead, they believed in their concept and continued to tweak the way YouTube functioned. It was not long before others saw the potential (most notably, Nike, who posted a video that was actually an
advertisement, giving YouTube its first one-million hit video). And the rest is history. While most of us are not going to have the phenomenal success of YouTube, we should still be on the lookout for opportunities. I think though that some of us view ‘opportunity’ as good luck or something that creates an easy path to success. Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work”. Another great view of opportunity is from Winston Churchill, who said that, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”. So sometimes (or perhaps often?) opportunity is what you make of a situation, rather than something that ‘happens’ to come your way. (And by the way, if you’ve never seen one of the most watched YouTube clips ever, look up ‘Charlie bit my finger – again!’, it’s has had over half a billion views and earned Charlie’s family more than $150,000).
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any businesses have pieces of a new employee induction process in place, but it’s not often understood correctly as to how to share the information, when to schedule addressing the different parts and who needs to be involved to make for an engaging process. Design a process, not an event The orientation process is just that, a process that will unfold over time, not just in one day. While it is important to share enough information so that a new employee feels equipped and prepared to do their work, employers should avoid overwhelming a new employee. Make a good first impression For many new employees, their first day experiences will be carried with them throughout their involvement with your business. For employers, the first day with a new employee provides the opportunity to welcome them to the team and help them feel comfortable. Make it personal and meaningful It is important to tailor the orientation process to the individual employee’s particular needs. While there is basic
information that all employees need to access, someone with 10 years professional experience may not need the same process as a trainee who is working for the first time. Help new employees understand and build their network New employees need to figure out who people are, what their roles are and how they interact within your business. To become a fully-functioning member of the team, employees need to know who to call to get something done, understand who reports to whom and so on. Go beyond the HR basics to share the workplace culture and informal practices An induction process that only covers policies and procedures is only telling a small part of the story. Think of the formal and informal ‘rules’ at your workplace. Inform new employees of fun activities you do like casual Fridays and how you celebrate birthdays. Build the culture into them from the start. Make information accessible An online resource or a file on your shared drive that is regularly updated, and always accessible, is the best practice.
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Is your marketing achieving results?
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ry 5 d O pe a ou ay n tit To r c s ly io yo ha t o n dr ta nce g aw Kl t o n uge o W th r I is ! N Tu es da y.
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Work with a business advisor to discuss a marketing strategy that will work for you.
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