OK. It's President Obama's third day on the job. Maybe he's not your
ordinary  "new-hire," but his 
Inauguration makes me think of how we
might start off  new-hires in the Engaged Mode.

 If I may offer 3 ways to stimulate your new-hires' engagement from the get-go:

 1. Provide every new person with a detailed, thorough, and user-friendly employee manual.
I suggest more than a 5-page, high-level overview that doesn't say
much. How about a manual that provides information the employee refers
to and uses well beyond her first month on the job–say, the first
year! Sure, it will take time to draft, edit, and print such a
resource. But if it adds to a new-hire's engagement, it's worth the
time, energy, and funds it costs.

 2. Introduce
Mr. Newcomer to at least one member in every department or team with
which he interfaces. Provide a couple of sentences to fill out the
introduction. For instance, the other person's job, the
responsibilities of that other team, how/why the two departments
interface. Sure, you might expect the person you've hired to know a lot
of this, but the 30 seconds it takes to repeat it can only serve you
and him well.

 3. Plan frequent check-ins.
These can be both formal and informal, scheduled and random. Primary
purpose: to raise and keep communication between you and new employees
at high levels. These meetings give you and your employee opportunities
to discuss business culture, company values, employee expectations,
current issues and so much more.

 As we hope for President Obama, we want all our new-hires to start off with engagement that spells success.

Tags: Employee Engagement, inauguration, new-hire