Troops,
It is time to begin a new tradition!
Companies don’t make money, people do.
Many of you are working hard to attract and retain the best people to our team. We’re going to need to pull together to make sure that we’ve got a culture that’s warm, fun, friendly and sincere.
Upon the new addition of team members, that person’s supervisor will be sending an introductory note. In the past, our team was so small that everyone knew about the new hires, and just about everything you would ever want to know about them (including whether they liked cheesecake, our proverbial “carrot” – or for the technical team “dog treat” – LOL!). As we grow, this “small business” feel will become increasingly difficult to maintain and it’s time that we begin a new way of welcoming the most important assets we have in our company, our people.
Call to Action:
So what can you do to help us welcome these new team members to LCG?
- Quickly jot them an email to introduce yourself and say hi
- Make it a point to give them a call
- Send them a text
- Schedule a 15 minute meeting with them to let them know what you’re working on. This is really important if the person is working on your “team”, even if they aren’t physically close to you.
- Make sure that they know that you are there to answer questions and extend your hand to them whenever they ask you a question
- Send them a small handwritten card by carrier pigeon
- Put a note in a bottle and throw it in the ocean
- Bring them some jelly beans, coffee beans, jumping beans, cool beans when you see them. Just don’t introduce them to Java beans if they aren’t on the technical team – you might scare them!
Be creative – point is – please help us create a culture that is warm, fun, friendly and sincere. A lot of you have told me in private moments that you like working here at LCG because of our culture, it’s time now for us to be thoughtful about keeping this feeling as we grow.
Sponsors:
Lastly, we are also introducing the concept of assigning a Sponsor to each new employee. Some of you will be “volunteered” as sponsors. Think about how valuable it would be to have a “brother” (don’t think Goerge Orwell’s “Big Brother” from 1984, think “foxhole trench mate”) for help with questions that you wouldn’t ask if you didn’t have a friendly peer. Let’s make it easy for new hires to resolve any moments of dis-orientation or confusion as questions pop up. Let’s do what we can to even avoid and preempt those moments where possible.
Please let me know what you think about these two ideas, I am eager to hear your feedback.
Get ready, I’ve got two new people to introduce to you! Here’s your opportunity to give this a try!
