Loyalty is a two-way street

Loyalty is a two-way street, and it begins with the organization’s treatment of the employees when they join. The organization sets the tone for the relationship, and Human Resources (HR) is most often serving as the organization’s representative in setting the tone.

HR is the early link between the new person and the organization. As such, it is HR’s responsibility to set a positive tone for the relationship. It is HR’s job to get the employee to fall in love with the company through the interview process and upon starting their career there.

But, don't put the whole burden on HR's shoulders.

It is often HR’s job to help initiate a successful relationship between the new person and her manager; however, building a bond between the organization and employee rests primarily with the hiring manager.

It is widely known, thanks to Marcus Buckingham’s studies revealed in his book First Break all the Rules, that people join companies for the type of work, opportunities, leadership, and benefits. But, they leave because of the daily interaction with their immediate manager. 

The immediate manager and teammates impact how engaged new people are, how productive they are, and how long they stay that way. You can get them started on the right foot by implementing a professional New Employee Orientation (NEO).

Most organizations do not have money or time for on-the-job initiations of new employees.  Budgets are way too tight for that! They need people to get up to speed quickly. 

Companies need the benefits of a professional NEO, as explained below.

1.  Decreased turnover

2. Faster contribution time for the new person

3. Decreased disruption for coworkers and managers of new person

4. Realistic understanding and expectations of the new job

5. Reduction of mistakes made my new people and those teaching them

6. Increased pride in the new company and its leaders

7. Increased engagement

8. Increased tenure with the organization

It takes more than Human Resources to bring new people on board effectively and to build employee loyalty. The immediate teammates, coworkers, and managers have more long-term impact than HR. Extend your NEO beyond the required HR-related information to build relationships, loyalty, and results.

Reader Query...
What have you found most useful in NEOs you've experienced as the new person or manager?

Just doing their jobs

Every employee faces emergencies. Some of them are life-threatening, most are not. Some risk loss of money and markets, many do not. Some workplace emergencies are caused by natural disasters. Others are caused by people  under-performing or over-reacting.

The difference between companies who thrive after emergencies and others is often how its people respond to emergencies.

Think about your typical responses and reactions when faced with a crisis.

When faced with life-threatening emergencies, what do you do? When faced with an emergency in which your organization could lose money or market position, what do you do? When faced with minor inconveniences, what do you do?

A few examples...
In a financial services office, a financial adviser slammed his office door and threw his laptop when the market closed down recently. At an advertising agency, the creative director yelled at the account services manager when the client delayed the project again. At a restaurant yesterday, I noticed someone yelling at the host for taking too long to seat his group.

My first thought yesterday was that the restaurant patron obviously would not do well in a crisis. The others probably would not either. They can't handle themselves professionally, or even kindly, in the less-than-life-threatening situations they were in; therefore, they probably cannot control their emotions when faced with a real crisis at work or in life.

Thankfully those people not one of the 180 in Japan risking their lives confronting the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

There are 180 people whose jobs it was to stay behind when the rest of the plant, and nearby town, evacuated. These people are highly skilled and thoroughly trained nuclear scientists, engineers, and operators. They knew in training that it would be their jobs to stay behind to prevent, manage, and combat a disaster such as what they are facing today.

The 180 are being hailed as heroes in Japan and around the world. In their culture, they are just doing their jobs.

In American culture, would we consider putting our lives on the line for coworkers part of our jobs? Oh, sure, the military does. But, what about the rest of us? Would you risk your life to save your boss? Department admin? Sales team? Accounting department? It takes a special person to be willing to do that.

Maybe the rest of us could simply include being more patient, responsive, proactive, and positive with our coworkers as just doing our jobs. Patient, responsive, proactive, positive people are quite rare in workplaces today. It takes a special person to be willing to be those things every day. We could take a lesson from the 180 Japanese heroes to make being selfless just part of our jobs.

(Information from www.CNN.com)

Secret Millionaire: Something doesn't feel right

Three nights ago, ABC aired the first episode of its new series Secret Millionaire. In this episode, Dani Johnson went undercover as a volunteer in non-profits she happened to come across while in Knoxville TN. At the end of the episode, she returned to each of the three and gave them donations. Everyone cried, including me.

While it seems like Ms. Johnson's heart was in the right place (she came across as a very sincere, caring person), the premise of the show is nagging at me three days later.

Founders of The Love Kitchen

One of the nagging questions is "Who should be the real stars of the show?" Ms. Johnson was clearly the star, but should it have been Ellen and Helen, pictured at right, the sisters who founded The Love Kitchen? Are people more interested in those actually doing the work or those who write the checks? How would a show about Helen and Ellen fare on television today? Not well, I'm afraid, and that nags at me.

A second nagging question is "Why did the millionaire have to be a secret?" Was there concern at ABC about the nonprofits behaving differently if they had known it was really like a game show? Why did it have to be a set-up? For some reason, that felt deceitful. When Ms. Johnson arrived at the locations to dole out checks, it felt like she was riding in on a horse to save the day--as if writing a check was more important than everything else those doing the work had been doing. Even Ms. Johnson seemed uncomfortable telling those she met that she really wasn't one of them, that she had "boot-strapped it, baby!" and made something of herself. It was awkward and seemed unnecessary.

Speaking of "boot-strapping, baby", the implication was that it would only take two years of hard work to become a millionaire is the third nagging issue.

Ms. Johnson said on the show that she was homeless at 21 and a millionaire at 23. She said she became a millionaire by "boot-strapping it, baby." A quick Google search reveals a little more to her story, including that the money was made from 90% cold calling in an MLM company, then selling books and tapes about how to make cold calls. There was no mention on the show about how the millions were made, other than when Ms. Johnson said she "boot-strapped it, baby."

The implication that she worked harder than those who received the donations is nagging three days later. If those folks receiving meals from The Love Kitchen, or those poor folks who run it, would just "boot-strap it, baby," they could turn their lives around. It was crystal clear that Helen and Ellen were boot-strappers and had made something of themselves, even if they were not millionaires. The positioning, by ABC more so than by Ms. Johnson, of the secret millionaire being more important, or more valuable, than those running the nonprofits does not feel right.

I cried a lot during the show. I cried when the secret millionaire went to each nonprofit and met the people who were giving and those receiving. I cried at the end when checks were given. I cried when she hugged the sisters at the kitchen, the little girl who's room was redecorated, and the students at the music school. So three days later, it is annoying that something about the show doesn't feel right.

So what?

Why does this matter to a corporate leader, small business owner, or professional? It matters because the show had high ratings and is likely viewed by corporate leaders, small business owners, and professionals. The premise may seem off to me, but if you are going to watch the show going forward, you might want to consider the following:

1. Who are your role models? What have they done to earn your emulation?
2. How do you inspire others to want to model you?
3. Actions show priorities. Do your actions match your words?

What do you think about the show's premise? What am I missing?

More info about the show and the nonprofits

Do you have anything in common with Charlie Sheen?

Who is this?

• He is talking a lot about his awesomeness this week.
• He thinks he cured a long-standing issue with just his brain and his alone.
• He proclaims himself to be too complicated for anyone to understand.

If you guessed Charlie Sheen, you'd be right. If you guessed the ego-maniacal leader in your office, you'd be right too.

While Charlie Sheen is a celebrity constantly in the news lately, others have similar self delusions. You've heard people at work take credit for someone else's work? You've had executives, or dates perhaps, who think they are so complex they are hard to figure out. You've had coworkers who want to rush through solutions without research, trials, or input from others.

Charlie Sheen thinks he is bigger than life, that everyone wants to be him, and that he is more special than everyone else. But he is not alone. He's just on morning shows talking about it. His self-hype may be caused by long-term addictions, but there could be other causes as well--for him and for the manager at your workplace.

Delusions of grandeur could be caused by never being told "no," by being surrounded by people who reinforce the perception, or by being sheltered from the bigger world out there. There could be many causes of it. The point here is that the actor is in the spotlight about it, while others have similar views of themselves privately. Some people are making fun of the actor, others feel sorry for him. We all could use a self-check to ensure we are not as blinded as he appears to be.

So, how do you know if you've got the Charlie Sheen disease of self-delusion? Here are 11 ways to tell if you are deluding yourself, a la Charlie Sheen:

1. If your conversations, blogs, tweets, and posts are about you 90% of the time, you may be infected.
2. If people withdraw from being around you, you may be infected.
3. If no one lists you as one of their top 365,947 role models, even in your field of expertise or family, you may be infected.
4. If you actually say things like, "No one understands me," you might be infected. (No one is that complicated; get over yourself.)
5. If people respond to you with statements like, "Really? You think that?" you may be infected.
6. If you are excluded from meetings, lunches, and gatherings with people you think are less than you, you may be infected.
7. If web sites and blogs (or coworkers at the water cooler) talk about your delusions of grandeur, you may be infected.
8. If your friends during a time of crisis are un-respected egomaniacs, you may be infected.
9. If your behavior has made you the joke of the office and people want to be around the same way they want to watch a car wreck, you may be infected.
10. If you are unable to rally support for your ideas, causes, or jobs, you may be infected.
11. If you think you are more newsworthy than US military fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, you may be infected.

If you find yourself infected with the Charlie Sheen disease of self-delusion, the best solution is to look yourself in the mirror...ah, never mind, you'd just get stuck there.

If you find yourself infected, you'd probably deny it anyway; however, that doesn't mean it is not true. You might not see it yourself, but those around you see it and eventually will disengage completely, lose respect, and cut ties. Perhaps that look in the mirror would be worth your time after all, just in case.

(Any other questions to ponder to discover if you have the Charlie Sheen disease of self-delusion? Share in the comments section.)