Think about all the companies you have worked for in your career. Do you have any memorable "first days" or "new employee orientations"? Based on the number of times I've posed this same question to large groups of business people, I am guessing you are hard pressed to come up with anything remotely memorable. Isn't that sad?
Most companies strive (i.e. spend large sums of money) to obtain a certain culture within their organizations. I think if they invested more up front in designing a solid New Employee Orientation Program, they wouldn't have to spend as much later in maintaining or repairing their culture. I think we are missing a golden opportunity to set the tone from day one. I say we because for the 7 years I owned my own business I had a good New Employee Orientation Program, but not a GREAT one!
I had the pleasure of having a very memorable first day. It was actually a very memorable first week! It was the first day that I began working for Dale Carnegie Training in Timonium, Maryland. Bob Cook was the licensee at the time and his sales manager was Buddy Bresnick.
Here are a few of the things that really impressed me and made it so memorable...
- Everyone in the office knew my name and introduced themselves right away
- Everyone seemed to know a little bit about me personally (even before I met them!)
- Everyone expressed how excited they were to have me aboard
- I got to spend some time with Bob Cook, the owner/licensee
- There was a very organized schedule for my training which was well communicated and adhered to!!
- My workspace was organized, clean and ready for me to begin working immediately
- Buddy bought me lunch a few times during my first week
As you can see from the list, we aren't talking about investing large sums of money on "things" or "events"! Other than the few lunches, the biggest investments Dale Carnegie Training made in me was of their time and their genuine effort to welcome me aboard. Can you think of a better way of preparing someone to become a productive member of your company/team?
Kudos to Bob Cook, Buddy Bresnick and the entire Dale Carnegie team who exemplified the principles they teach in their training programs!
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