The newest person on your team can be your brightest gauge for success. Through the eyes of the new hire you can quickly determine what’s working, what’s not working and identify opportunities to move performance to the next level.

Set People up to Win—from day one.
In part one of this three part series we explored “where to look” when it comes to setting the new hire up to win. (Click Here to read.) We examined new hire “contact points” with your company and determined if we’re producing the desired result: people who are enabled to win from day one.

This article will focus on "What to look for" in establishing a process for creating employees who win—both new hires and seasoned veterans. We’ll focus on three main areas: Vision, Values and Clear Expectations. If I’m the new hire, I need a clear understanding of the vision and values that drive the organization. I need to know where we’re going and how we plan on getting there.
Here’s a question: “How can you hit a target you cannot see?” Firing aimlessly and hoping something runs into your bullet is one strategy, but let’s face it, it’s not very effective or efficient. So, how can the new hire hit a target they cannot see? Without understanding the vision, values and expectations of the organization, they're aiming at nothing.

“Best Practice” companies don’t leave the vision and values piece to chance. Nor do they assume that because it’s written in some employee manual, or hanging on a plaque in the lobby that the new hire will see, understand and assimilate the spirit of the message.

Ritz Carlton, Malcolm Baldridge Award winners in 1992, schools every employee in the company’s “Gold Standard,” which sets the service credo and basics of premium service. There is no mystery in the mind of the new hires about the vision and values of the organization. With a corporate motto of "ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen," employees are expected to adhere to the vision and be able to demonstrate “instant pacification” strategies when dealing with customer requests.

Clear expectations are a hallmark of this award winning hotel chain. Every employee knows their role in accomplishing the vision and what they can do personally to impact results. The Ritz Carlton has trained a workforce that is empowered "to move heaven and earth" to satisfy customers. They know that if asked, they are to drop their normal responsibilities to assist another employee in serving a customer request.

Teams are created to further the “clear expectations” objective—responsible for setting quality-certification standards for each position, problem solving, and strategic planning. The goal in all the planning and training is not merely customer satisfaction but to create a “memorable visit.”

You might not be the Ritz Carlton or competing for the Malcolm Baldridge award but you can “swipe and adapt” several key points.

Point One: The obvious to you is not so obvious to the new hire. Assuming is a dangerous practice. Be sure everyone on the team understands the values and vision of the organization. I recently challenged one CEO to spend a day walking around the offices and ask his employees what the vision and values are for the company and their department. He was not happy with what he heard and determined the communication effort wasn’t getting through. Here's a challenge: call 10 people and ask the same question.

Point Two: Are your employees empowered to "to move heaven and earth" to satisfy customers? Do employees know where the most likely upsets are bound to happen? Do they have the knowledge and tools to turn an "OW" into a "WOW!"?

Point Three: Given the Ritz Carlton example, we know that success doesn’t happen by mistake. In fact, the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. The award winners don’t attempt to “microwave” orientation and training. They don’t view setting people up to win as an expense, they see it as an investment critical to their success.

Summary: Setting people up to win from day one takes effort but it can pay huge dividends. One of the critical places to look is in the area of vision, values and clear expectations—assuring new hires get and live the message. The alternative is frightening—leave it to chance that the new hires will figure it out and set themselves up for maximum contribution from day one. Frankly, I don’t think so, and as the new hire—I'd really like to start out on the right foot.

Lessons of the Trapeze

Trapeze Buddy Success Characteristic:
A Constant Learner

Mark Twain said: "Don’t let school get in the way of your education." 

Winning Trapeze Buddies take this quote to heart. They’re on the continuous learning team. They seek out opportunities to learn more to better their person and profession.  

You can see the “I want to get even better” mentality in everything they do. They learn from others, they learn from successes and they learn from failures.  

The world we live in is ever evolving—the winning Trapeze Buddies might not be thrilled with all the change but they don’t resist it either. That’s because they’re open to learning more, seeing different perspectives and taking the game to the next level.