When you take on a new recruit, whilst on-the-job
training is useful and is undoubtedly the best way to learn, it is also helpful
to have some mutually agreed objectives that focus on strong performance.
Many studies show that if you pay more of the right
kind of attention to employees, they work harder and smarter. Retention rates
go up, your team is happier and more effective.
So, how do you set objectives for your new recruit?
Following these nine rules will give you an edge.
1. Tell your new employee what your expectations
are. For junior-level recruits, make sure you tell them your expectations
in terms of dress code, working hours, lunchtime and breaks, use of the
internet, when and if they can use social networking sites, take and make
personal calls and so on. And with regard to their role make clear your
expectations for delivery during the probation period. For instance how they
should split their time between the different activities e.g. origination,
screening, execution. Set some KPIs for example with origination, how many companies
should they approach, number of meetings fixed and so on. 
2. Learn from the best. Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach for American football team the
Green Bay Packers, believed in giving every player a clean slate at the start
of every game. This meant that “star” players did not rest on their laurels and
felt compelled to continuously prove themselves in each game. You should have
the same attitude towards new employees - they may have been a star performer
in their last job at Goldman, for example, but you should expect them to
continuously prove themselves in their new role.
3. Keep it simple. Keep the objectives
simple and refer to them regularly. Objectives should be reviewed at least
quarterly and performance levels checked at least monthly. Avoid overly
complicated matrices as they are likely to bore employees and make them averse
to the objective-setting process. Print out the objectives and put them up
in a place where the new recruit will see them on a daily basis. Make sure
all objectives are measurable and timed.
4. Push the boundaries. Learn from Henry Ford. The
objectives, to an extent, should be mutually agreed between the new recruit and
their manager, but should also push the new recruit significantly out of their
comfort zone. Henry Ford used this approach of setting challenging objectives and
achieved massive improvements in productivity on his factory shop floors.
5. Build on strengths, eliminate critical
weaknesses. When you take a new recruit on board, it’s worth thinking about
what their strengths and weaknesses are. These should have become apparent
during the interview and referencing process. The strengths should be built on
- i.e. activities they are more naturally good at should be used to your firm’s
advantage. If the new recruit is weak in an aptitude that is core to their
role, then they should be trained in this skill / aptitude quickly.
6. Praise more than you criticise. Praise
usually raises serotonin levels in the brain of the recipient; being overly
critical reduces self-esteem in your employees. Use positive reinforcement to
increase the frequency of positive behaviour, and use criticism with balance.
7. Keep lines of communication open. If someone isn’t performing up to expectations – DO NOT allow bad
feelings to fester. It is best to address any concerns relatively quickly in
order to keep the new recruit on course. For example, if the candidate is a
bulldozer who could upset the team dynamic, let the candidate know how their
behaviour needs to change and why it needs to change.
8. Be creative. Don’t let objectives stifle
creativity or prevent the exploitation of opportunities outside the realm of
the new recruit’s objectives; be pragmatic. Don’t use objectives as an excuse
to micro-manage.
9. Train where necessary. Create synergies. If your new recruit is relatively junior and came from a strategy
consulting background, then it may be worth investing in some financial
training, such as this: http://pecareerscentre.com/products.htm#fm. Conversely, if your new recruit came from an investment banking background,
it may be worth asking him or her to spend half an hour a week with one of your
team who used to work in strategy consulting – in order to disseminate some
strategic and operational analysis skills.
Seemingly small changes in behaviour can end up
making a huge difference over the long term. Encourage members of your team to
do at least one thing each day that will improve their level of
performance. Over time this will give you an edge over your competitors. Such
activities are easy to do, and they are also easy not to do. Make sure your
team does them.
Note: Some of the concepts in this article were
taken from The Slight Edge by Jeff Olsen.
Oliver Gilkes - PER
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