When you’ve found the right candidate for the right seat and they’re the right culture and values fit, it’s time to get an offer in their hands. A written offer may seem like a basic thing, but I’ve heard enough horror stories from candidates and workers in the industry to know that employers have the opportunity to elevate their hiring practices, starting with offer letters that clearly outline compensation.
As with every other step in the hiring process, put yourself in the employee’s shoes to see it from their perspective, especially if your offer includes a bonus structure. Make it crystal clear how those bonuses will be earned, and when those payments will be issued. Would you join a company based on just a promise or a handshake or would you like to see in writing exactly how you’ll be paid?
It’s always a good idea to have an HR professional help you draft some offer templates. Each state may have different rules about what’s required in the offer. For example, North Carolina requires me to list the promised wages, date of payment, and place of payment.
In addition to details on the base rate of pay and bonus structure, here are some other items you can include in your offer letter:
- Gratitude for their time and interest, and enthusiasm over them potentially joining your team
- Details of the introductory (probationary) period if you have one
- Holidays and Paid Time Off details – when it starts to accrue, how much, etc.
- Benefits and when they are eligible to receive them
- On-call details
- When they may be eligible for certification, if you have a waiting period
- Contingent items – acceptance of documents like the handbook, completion of screenings and pre-employment testing, etc.
- Start Date
Review the offer letter with the candidate either in-person, or over the phone and ensure they understand all components. When you do receive their signature on the offer, celebrate! Express how excited you are to have them join your team, and then outline their onboarding process so they’ll know what to expect on their first day.
Onboarding
If you’re a business owner, think about how long it’s been since you had a first day somewhere. Nothing’s changed since Kindergarten…it’s still intimidating to walk into a new place full of new people. Knowing that, put some effort into making your new team member feel more comfortable, even before their first day.
Using programs such as BambooHR and KnowHow can make your onboarding experience consistent for every team member in every division. HR software makes sure the details are covered – from signing the handbook and completing payroll forms, even down to giving someone directions on where to go on their first day.
A feature that I like about BambooHR is the “get to know you” questions you can ask the candidate while they’re completing pre-employment forms. The answers to those questions allow you to deliver a personalized welcome gift to your new team member on day one. It also sends out an all-team email the morning of the first day and introduces your new team member to everyone. When someone arrives at my company on their first day, they receive a handwritten note from me, their favorite candy, some company swag, and a book about EOS so they can learn about how we operate.
The first 90 days are critical for determining a team member’s success, and day one sets the tone for the rest of their experience. While we always need more hands out in the field, it’s better to start off in the classroom. The first day is ideal for things like safety training, respiratory protection and fit testing, touring the facility, completing forms, and learning how to use software.
Many people should be involved in the first day onboarding experience, and based on company size, it’s a nice touch for the owner to spend time with a new team member. It sends the message that they are important…and who is better equipped to convey the information in the Culture Guide than the owner?
A written Culture Guide prepares a new team member to seamlessly integrate into your culture. It can be distributed to the employee before their first day, and reviewed in person on their first day. This is an opportunity to dig deep into the mission and values and discuss practices, which are your company’s values in action. It also sets the tone for the new team member to understand their role in maintaining and protecting the culture. The Culture Guide tells your company’s story, which equips your team to tell your brand story. Never heard of a Culture Guide before? Just Google it to see some examples. Or, contact me and I’ll give you more info.
When it’s time to go out into the field, you should pair your new team member with your best brand ambassador to fully immerse them into your culture and your way of doing things. When you have a training and onboarding experience that is thorough and consistent, 90 days should give you ample time to determine if your new hire is the right fit for the job and the culture. By this time, you should know if they “get it” and love it. Remember, restoration isn’t for everyone.
Many years ago, we asked our team to help us build a list of all the things we should cover during a technician’s onboarding period. I asked them to tell us the things that they weren’t initially taught, and maybe they were afraid to ask how to do. One person said, “Nobody showed me how to turn on a dehumidifier.” That was an eye-opening experience. Take a minute to think about it from the perspective of the technician, and use a method for ensuring that each new hire gets the same onboarding experience. You can use a binder with a checklist, HR software, or KnowHow to house all the information that you need to transfer to your new team member. Have regular check-ins with them and have coaching conversations when needed in a timely manner.
If someone just doesn’t seem to get it, or want it, or if they just aren’t a fit for the job or the culture, do yourself a favor and part ways swiftly and respectfully. They’re going to put their best foot forward during the introductory period. If it’s not up to your standards now, it’s probably not going to be better in the future.
At the end of the 90 day period, sit down with your new team member and review their experience. Praise them for what they’ve done well, discuss areas of focus moving forward, and solicit feedback on their onboarding experience. You may need to fine-tune your processes based on what you hear. You’re also setting the tone that in your organization, their voice matters.
Retention
It’s disheartening to invest time and resources into hiring and training an individual just to lose them in a short period of time. Companies need to balance efforts between hiring and retention, and neither job is ever done.
At the core of a successful employee/employer relationship is trust. Building trust between leadership and employees is an ongoing process, and just like any other relationship, transparency is key. Your team members want to feel “in” on things and know that their work is contributing to the company in a meaningful way. Sharing the details of the company’s strategy and how it’s performing is just one way you can earn your team’s trust.
During a team member’s first day at my company, I spend time introducing them to our strategic plan: our EOS V/TO, which includes our 10 year target, 3 year plan, 1 year plan, and quarterly rocks. I tell them that the main purpose of this conversation is to avoid any guessing about what’s happening next, and when they see changes taking place, they aren’t fearful, because they know it’s all part of a plan. And, when people know what to expect and how it impacts them, they can be a champion for change.
Ideally, the new team member should be able to visualize how the company’s growth impacts their role in the company and their growth potential. Your team members, especially technicians, should be introduced to a growth plan early in their employment with you that shows them the investment you’re going to make in their training and development and clear steps they can follow to increase their earning potential.
If you’re thinking about creating a technician career path, don’t overcomplicate it. It should be clear and easy to understand. At its core, there should be a few levels, and each level has suggested certifications, technology usage requirements, and technical skills that are expected at each level. A pay scale is assigned to each level to reduce confusion about how to earn more money.
After onboarding, the new team member is in a constant rhythm of hearing about what’s happening at our company. During our monthly team meeting, there’s a report on strategic plan progress. We review our KPI scoreboard and our financial performance. We hand out bonuses when we hit our goals because when the company wins, we all win! We celebrate what’s going right.
During the first quarter of each year, each team member has dedicated one on one time with their manager to review the strategic plan for the new year. We talk about the role they will play in helping us achieve our goals. But the most important thing we do in that meeting is discuss THEIR goals as well. We leave that meeting with agreed-upon goals and a plan to achieve it. Then, we track progress during the year using BambooHR’s Performance tool. When someone achieves a goal, we mark it as 100% complete and celebrate them in our monthly meeting.
A Culture of Appreciation
When you employ someone, you enter into a relationship with them. As humans, we generally won’t stay in a relationship if we don’t feel seen, heard, and appreciated, or if our partner isn’t interested in our personal growth. The same goes for the people we are responsible for. If we aren’t taking the time to make them feel like they are important to us, they won’t continue to show up and give us everything they’ve got.
Putting systems in place to ensure you are making your people feel seen and appreciated doesn’t make the gestures any less genuine. This can be as simple as setting a recurring calendar event near the end of every month to prepare birthday cards and work anniversary celebrations for the upcoming month. Build appreciation and recognition into everyday life.
If something is a big deal to your team member, it should be a big deal for you too. So, if their kid needs a sponsor for their sports team, write that check. But, take it a step further and go to a game and cheer for them! If there’s a team member who has a personal connection with a local organization that’s hosting a fundraising event, write that check. But, take it a step further and put a team together for the 5k! The bottom line: your people show up for you every day. Show up for them.
We’re employing humans, and they have a life outside of work. When you take a genuine interest in not just the employee, but the human, and work to help them achieve their goals, their dedication to your company grows exponentially. In this age of record high turnover, we’ve got our work cut out for us to retain top talent. A great place to start is thinking about retention from the employee’s perspective and asking yourself, “Would I stay with me?”
Katie Smith, CR
Katie Smith, CR is the second generation owner of PHC Restoration in North Carolina, an independent company committed to making a positive impact on its team, customers and community. Passionate about servant leadership and building relationships, Katie plays an active role both inside of her company and within the industry. She currently serves as the President of the Restoration Industry Association, the oldest and largest non-profit, professional trade association dedicated to providing leadership and promoting best practices through advocacy, education & professional networking opportunities for the restoration industry.
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