GROWTH STRATEGIES
Smooth Transitions Feed Long-Term Positions

Long Island Business News
June 27 - July 3, 2003

By: Adina Genn

It was a painstaking effort to recruit your new hire, who, after some back and forth, finally accepted your offer.

You showed them around the building, introduced them to other colleagues and provided a copy of the company's handbook. After emphasizing that you are always available, even for silly questions, you're confident that things are off to a good start. Or are they?

Some companies are taking no chances when it comes to grooming new hires to become loyal and productive long-term workers.

Tours and introductions are just the beginning of employee orientation at Esselte, a manufacturer of office supplies in Melville. The company wastes no time immersing newcomers into its team-based approach. "New hires spend a week to two weeks with the various departments they'll be working with," said Ray Palen, the company's human resources and training manager.

In addition, Esselte hosts post-hire orientations for new employees at least once a quarter. "We gather them in a room and offer a refresher on benefits, training aspects, answer questions, get feedback and bring in management guest speakers to talk about their experiences and what their learning curve was," Palen said.

Businesses like Esselte regard in-depth orientations as tools for new hires to understand how they help employers achieve their mission. Companies with good programs decrease the likelihood of new hires committing potentially expensive errors. And good programs increase employee retention, saving a company the expense of re-staffing a position.

The first 60 days on a new job are the "honeymoon period - that time when everything is great with the candidate.

The hiring manager feels secure. It's the most critical transition period," said Jason Banks, Director of Direct Hire Permanent Placement of Lloyd Staffing in Melville.

"The manager wants to get back to work and thinks the job is done. But it's just the beginning," Banks said. When you spend all that energy recruiting, invest that same effort and time to make sure they settle in appropriately."

How? Banks has suggestions:

Provide a written job description so that the new staffer understands what's expected.

Depict your corporate culture by providing examples of the way employees communicate in
E-mails and memos.

Encourage suggestions and input immediately to enforce that new ideas are welcome.

Introduce employees to subordinates and new clients, as well as company reports.

Discuss overall business goals - not just the ones from your division.

For small businesses, getting new employees in the groove quickly is imperative.

"We can't afford to wait three months for a person to be productive," said Brian Okun, Director of Marketing at CHIPS Computer Consulting, a company with 14 employees in Lake Success. "If someone doesn't know the answer, it takes up time," he said.

At CHIPS, new employees receive handbooks that outline emp1oye functions, go through four-week orientations, attend a series of classes each Tuesday that cover industry-related topics and relationship management skills and are paired up with a mentor in their field - whether it's Engineering, Account Management or Internal Operations.

"We align them with corporate culture as soon as possible so that, to the client, service is continuous," Okun said. CHIPS started the program one year ago and had four new hires since. "They're all still with us," Okun said.

At Esselte, orientation marks the start of company-wide ongoing training. New managers are quickly introduced to the strategies of the Kaizen Institute, a consulting company that helps clients continually improve all aspects of their business. "Lean manufacturing and lean management," is how Palen described it. Every level of management receives Kaizen training three times a year, visiting manufacturing sites and various departments to work with associates in streamlining operations. The program is evolving to all employees once a year. In exchange, participants become familiar with other aspects of Esselte.

"We always have a Kaizen going on, Palen said, adding that new hires attend one right away.

New hires devote time for e-learning with courses in project management, time management and customer service, Palen added.

At Astoria Federal Savings Bank, employee orientation is held every Monday morning at the Lake Success cafeteria of their corporate headquarters, said Gary Zimbalatti, Senior Manager of Recruiting and Employee Relations. The bank has branches across Long Island and in some of the metropolitan area. Zimbalatti's staff greets new hires and treats them to breakfast at a reserved table before heading up- to the company's boardroom. The morning is filled with mandatory information about company policy and banking regulations. Afterwards, guest speakers from various departments discuss their roles at the bank. Some continue on to a formal 10-day training course and others report to their managers for on-the-job training. It's all part of what Zimbalatti hopes will be a long-term relationship.

"I hire you and welcome you the next day. I call in two months and ask how things are going. At the same time, the manager fills out a review," he said. It's reinforced that the new hires "have a contact at human resources. If there's an issue, they call me and keep in touch. Call with questions before it becomes a problem. That's something we're very proud of." Palen said Esselte's orientation program is essential. "It helps ensure that if there's a failure it's not due to lack of tools," he said. More often than not, "people who leave Esselte are moving or retiring."