I am honored to have another article, My Favorite Reference Question, on Thrive Global!
My Article, My Favorite Reference Question, Is Published on Thrive Global!
Keep Calm and New Hire On: Five Tips for Managers to Reduce the Stress of Onboarding Someone New
Congratulations! You have a new hire! Except…
We all know that starting a new job can be nerve wracking for new hires, but what about the stress it puts on hiring managers? Onboarding a new hire takes a lot of time, mental energy, and patience. Here are my 5 tips to reduce the stress as you get your new hire up and running:
- Book lots of training time on your calendar in the first few weeks. While it’s easy to think that you can do all your work and get your new hire up to speed, you cannot. There are only so many hours in the day, and the training will be more effective if there are minimal interruptions and your new employee has your undivided attention at least a few hours a day in the beginning.
- Breathe. New hires, from entry-level to the most senior executives, will have a lot of questions. Having someone pepper you with constant questions can be stressful but remember two things: you were once the newbie, so pay it forward, and the more thoroughly you answer the questions early on, the faster your new hire will understand how things work.
- Make it a team effort. It will take some of the stress off you, and the team approach will give the new hire a chance to hear multiple perspectives and build meaningful relationships with others in the organization. Plus, new hires can have questions they do not necessarily want to ask you, their boss, so this gives them other sources of information. Look beyond your team. Find key stakeholders in other departments so that your employee sees the big picture.
- Celebrate early successes. We all want to know that we are getting the hang of a new job and adding value. I worked for a manager who gave a bottle of champagne to new hires at a team meeting when they hit their first major performance milestone. This made the new hire feel accomplished and made the veterans on the team feel good to have played a part in getting the new hire to this point.
- Have daily face time with them for the first month or so. I worked for someone who did intense trainings with me for the first week or so, and then blocked time at the end of each day for the remainder of my first month. That time was invaluable, because it gave me a chance to determine priorities, do a temperature check and get my questions answered.
A well-planned onboarding plan takes effort, and you (and your new hire!) will reap the rewards of the effort.
Good luck!
Hire the best! With personalized service and proven results, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides retained executive search services and human resources consulting for exceptional non-profits and socially responsible for-profit firms. A woman-owned business, Pillar is based in Boston, MA, and works on the national level. To learn more about how Pillar can assist with your hiring and human resources needs, please contact Cindy Joyce at cindy@pillarsearch.com.
Chief Operating Officer, Grads of Life with Year Up!
Pillar Search has partnered with Year Up on their search for a Chief Operating Officer, Grads of Life.
OVERVIEW:
The Chief Operating Officer, Grads of Life (Boston, MA) reports directly to the Principal, Grads of Life and will assist in building and leading Grads of Life’s work to help employers build Opportunity Youth talent pipelines.
Grads of Life was incubated by Year Up and is a separate program and team focused on influencing the human capital strategy and processes of large employers. As a result of the Grads of Life media campaign and public service announcement, which has garnered $90M in donated media support and attracted more than 800,000 visitors to its accompanying website, employers of all sizes and industries are coming to Grads of Life for tools, solutions, and support in tapping into the Opportunity Youth talent pool. This new employer demand represents a critical opportunity to engage business in closing the Opportunity Divide, which separates 6 million young adults from accessing stable, viable careers. Employers want to find their next great talent – and they need the help of Grads of Life to find, grow, and retain Opportunity Youth.
The Chief Operating Officer, Grads of Life (Boston, MA) is part of a three-person executive leadership team of Grads of Life. This position will work to operationalize the strategic vision for Grads of Life. In order to be successful in this role, you will thrive in a fast-paced environment that requires you to triage myriad new opportunities and lead across multiple large-scale projects at once. You will have a strong business focus and decision making skills that enable effective allocation of talent and resources to maximize learning through corporate pilots. Given the need to lead across diverse innovation pilots in an emerging market, you’ll also be a veteran leader who can predict and problem solve skill or resource gaps to ensure success.
We understand that people gain skills through a variety of professional, personal, educational, and volunteer experiences. We encourage candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications below. If you believe you have the transferable skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of this role, we encourage you to apply.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Opportunity Optimization
- Optimize staff and resource allocation to drive success across Grads of Life deploying a clear decision framework for making tough trade-offs
- In partnership with Grads of Life executive leaders triage new opportunities against investor commitments, system change potential, and available resources
- In partnership with Grads of Life executive leaders, cultivate strategic vision for scalable and sustainable business practices for Grads of Life and/or other market players thus driving systems change
- Refine Grads of Life business model based on market learning and pilot experiences
- Optimize marketing and communication activity as an effective tool for systems change and business development
- Assess opportunities for potential skill or resource gaps that could impede success and then problem solve to fill gaps
- Keep abreast of market innovations and other players to inform system change thinking, marketing strategy, product direction, and potential collaboration and partnership opportunities
Performance Management
- Work closely with Grads of Life team to ensure all ongoing activities are moving forward in alignment with strategic direction
- Lead team to deliver against Grads of Life investor milestones and internal annual goals, deploy lead and lag indicators of progress to avert surprises
- In consultation with pilot leaders, create corrective plans for pilots that are off track
- Manage internal burn rate of capital and steward financial and human resources to maximize number of quality pilot opportunities
- Oversee building, or modifying of existing, administrative systems and processes to enable efficient workflow and management across Grads of Life
- Oversee performance reporting to key investors, Year Up corporate, and other key stakeholders
- Work closely with team to manage and monitor external evaluation process
Talent & Culture
- Foster a culture that attracts extraordinary talent and create team practices for coaching and developing talent in partnership with Grads of Life executive leaders
- Create supportive processes and structures that scaffold a performance culture
- Optimize staff roles and responsibilities and align activity against Grads of Life annual goals for all staff
- Model an approachable and supportive management style that elicits full potential from staff
- Solidify and promote a unique Grads of Life culture inside of Year Up that is defined by nimbleness, innovation and entrepreneurism in partnership with Grads of Life executive leaders
Influence Team Member
- Participate as an Influence team member by engaging in team meetings and helping to onboard new staff
QUALIFICATIONS:
Business Focus & Strategic Thinking
- Knowledgeable about financial issues and responsibilities and exposure to a range of business models
- Start-up or innovation experience with a focus on delivering the best outcomes creatively using the resources available
- Ability to proactively seek more efficient ways of doing business while balancing investments in systems or processes with current and potential future scale of work
- A clear focus on the activities and projects that bring the best return on advancing system change in this emerging market
- Predisposition to take a long term view and entertain a wide range of possibilities in developing a vision for the future
Leadership skills & Decision Making
- Ability to inspire a strong desire to succeed across team members and lead others to successful goal/milestone accomplishment
- Strong and calm presence and can provide the team with a clear sense of direction, especially in times of high stakes activity
- Experience and comfort with making quick and sound decisions based on consideration of the (sometimes incomplete) data and alternatives available
- Ability to predict future skill or resource gaps which could impede success for a pilot or Grads of Life and proactive address gaps
- Commitment to promoting diversity of thought and experience on the team and in how members interact to achieve the best outcomes for Grads of Life
- Belief in the power of diversity and excitement for working in a diverse culture and on diverse teams
Coaching & Developing Others:
- Experience with improving other’s skills and talents by providing directly and creating culture and systems to encourage constructive feedback , coaching and training opportunities
- Understanding of how to empower others by investing them with the authority and latitude to accomplish tasks effectively
- Self-awareness of strengths and weakness and how that impacts decision making, comfort with proactively seeking additional experience or skills to guide work
Mission / Cultural Fit:
- Passion for systems change activities (i.e. campaign organizing, advocacy and coalition building, media, and public relations)
- A passion for working with urban young adults, an unshakable belief in their potential and a strong commitment to the mission of Year Up
- Understanding of the Opportunity Divide and its drivers
- Commitment to diversity and inclusion
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:
- Salary: Competitive and commensurate with education and experience
- Benefits: Competitive package including 100% healthcare coverage, dental, and 401(k) match
- Vacation: Three weeks paid vacation in first year of employment; four weeks after initial year
- Professional development: Funds available to support staff in achieving career objectives
ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION:
Year Up is an award-winning national 501(c)3 organization striving to close the Opportunity Divide by providing young adults ages 18-24 with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Through a one-year intensive program, Year Up utilizes a high support, high expectations model that combines hands-on technical and professional skills, educational stipends, college-level coursework, and corporate internships at more than 250 top companies.
Year Up currently serves young adults in Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, the National Capital Region, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay Area, South Florida, and Wilmington and will serve more than 3,000 students in 2017 nationwide.
Voted one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For in the country by The Non-Profit Times for six consecutive years, Year Up is a rewarding place to work. Their staff is passionate, supportive, mission-driven, and live by a set of core values that reflect an unshakable belief in the talent and full potential of young people.
Year Up participates in E-Verify.
COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY:
Year Up actively engages individuals from all backgrounds. They are committed to embracing diversity within their organization because they firmly believe that diverse employee teams help to achieve the best organizational outcomes and provide the most effective support to young adults as they work to close the Opportunity Divide. They are deeply dedicated to creating and maintaining an inclusive and supportive work environment. Learn more about their commitment to diversity:http://www.yearup.org/about-us/careers/commitment-to-diversity/
As an equal opportunity employer, Year Up is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.
TO APPLY:
Please submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume to Cindy Joyce, Pillar’s Founder & CEO, to cindy@pillarsearch.com. Note that, per the client’s request, submissions without a cover letter will not be considered.
Onboard or Onward: Ensuring the Success of Your New Executive Hire
“About 40% of executives who change jobs or get promoted fail in the first 18 months.”
Where does it all go wrong? Too often, the onboarding process is where things fall apart. I am not talking about “orientation”, which often is done day one and generally involves the basics of assigning a building pass, conducting a benefits overviews, meeting the team and reading a few policies. Onboarding is a longer process, and if done well (typically in partnership with Human Resources and managed by the new executive’s manager, or the Board Chair if they report to the Board of Directors) can almost guarantee fit. It is holistic and gradual. It is also very deliberate, and will require constant check-ins and open communication. Here are five key activities that will help to ensure that your new executive will be successful in their new role:
Start to Onboard Before They are Actually ON BOARD!
The time between an offer being accepted and the executive starting is sensitive. They may be dealing with a counteroffer, having to say goodbye to much-loved colleagues, and are nervous about this new venture. Keep in touch. Reiterate your excitement to have them joining the team, and have a few people in the organization reach out. If there are organizational overviews, annual reports, strategic plans or other things that that they can read up on ahead of time, get those to them during this time so that they start to feel like part of the team.
Send an announcement out to the staff and the board a few days before their start date explaining their background and the job they are filling. This will help make them seem more familiar to the team when they come through the door, and as an added benefit they will not have to review their resume and background with absolutely everyone in their first week or so.
Relationship Before Task
Ideally, new executives will meet with their team and people across the organization. One-on-one meetings are great, but remind those who will be meeting with the executive to get to know them before delving into the inner workings of their role or the issues they face. Building rapport with new colleagues and direct reports is critical in the early days.
Learn By Doing
Too often, in an effort to get all the information to a new hire as soon as possible, they are introduced to processes way too soon. Guess what? They will not remember how to do an expense report or change their password or complete a sales report 30 to 60 days in when they actually need to do it if they are taught how to do it their first week. Have the right people meet with them at the start to review the process at a high level, and then have them set up a time to do it later when they can sit down with real data and learn from it real-time.
The Buddy System
What we learned in grade school still applies: the buddy system works when the new kid starts. This should not be the executive’s manager, but a peer or high-performing direct report who has longevity and the personality to be an effective buddy. The buddy can manage the nicety of taking them to lunch on day one and being available to explain the intricacies of culture, relationship dynamics, and certain pitfalls to avoid, which are things that the executive may not be comfortable asking of higher-ups.
Check In Early & Often
I too often hear that executives join, get a ton of attention the first day or two, and then are largely left on their own. It does not feel welcoming, and it runs the risk of them going in a direction that is difficult to course-correct later on. Meet with them daily, even for 10-15 minutes, in the first few weeks. Move on to twice weekly, weekly….you get the point. Let them know where they are doing a great job. Let them know where they need to take a different approach. But LET THEM KNOW. Being clear on what is a success will lead to more success.
While by no means a complete onboarding process, following the steps above will help to ensure that your new executive hire is one of the 60% who will be a success in the first 18 months.
Cindy Joyce is an Executive Recruiter and the Founder of Pillar Search, an Executive Search and HR Consulting firm located in Boston that works with clients nationwide. She can be reached here.
