The onboarding.
Assuming that you are hired and you are happy at the new workplace, what’s next? How did the company bring you on board? Did they have several interviews? Did they bring in one or two people that you will need to be working closely with?
Maybe, maybe not, depending on your position and what the company needs. Is there, or was there training, is it clear what the expectations are?
The expectations.
What is my job exactly? If you were brought on as a receptionist, does your job include filing documents? Are you essentially a personal assistant to the boss? Did these details get discussed or are you simply a receptionist at a desk?
While there are so many things to discuss with a new hire, the expectations vs reality are where things fall apart…
People will often be hired, then the truth comes out. This is not fair to either party. On one hand, you hired someone for a job that you have now piled on or taken away responsibilities.
My one new start.
I was hired at a particular company and I showed up for work in dress shoes, dress pants and a short sleeve golf shirt. It was business casual, not suit and tie.
I was led to my office and sat there staring out the window as people slowly walked in at 10 am. The start time was at 9 am, or so I was told…
I waited for a little bit and poked my head out once in a while. A large man came to my office, I will leave his name out for now and introduce himself.
He then led me out of the office and yelled at nearly 20 people.
“This is Zsolt, he is your new boss.”
The new boss?
Well, this was some introduction. I never got to know what the individual jobs were for the 20 employees under my care. I was their boss but never once did I know or have an individual job description for them.
This was because the man that introduced me to them was never happy about me taking the position that he wanted. So I worked with him and communicated with him about what I needed to be done. In the end, it didn’t matter but this was a big wake-up call for me as a high-ranking C-suite member.
I was the boss of the boss and the leaders of their teams. In the years that passed, we did become good friends and the animosity didn’t last forever. They needed me and I needed them. The start was rough and the road was bumpy but the job got done.
Zsolt Zsemba 