Our CEO Evan Hackel believes that one key to building retention, performance and satisfaction is to tell job applicants what will be expected of them if they come on board – and even to tell them during interviews. “Why wait until the first job review and then tell employees what they haven’t done right?” Evan wrote in a recent article.  And we couldn’t agree more.

It makes sense to utilize the earliest opportunities to explain the behaviors, attitudes and accomplishments that your organization values. For example, you can tell job applicants, “We value and reward people who can quickly apply creative solutions to customer issues, who are eager to contribute new ideas and solutions and above all, who demonstrate a strongly positive attitude toward each other and our clients.”

Training Offers another Opportunity to Set Motivational Expectations

The training you deliver to new employees offers an opportunity to teach not only skills, but what is valued in your organization. Here are some opportunities . . .

• Talk about the values and behaviors that bring success in your company.
• Discuss your company’s vision, mission and values. As an exercise, Evan suggests having each employee explain, in his or her own words, just what the company vision is.
• Use videos and other engaging content that teach compelling lessons about your company’s values. You can tell the company story and profile top executives, customers and employees who are really getting the job done.
• Explain advancement opportunities and career paths within your organization. Spelling out this information motivates employees much more effectively than letting them discover “the ropes” after they come on board.
• Use games, exercises, and break-out activities that encourage trainees to think about why they are performing activities, not simply trying to learn the steps you expect them to take.

To Learn More about Ingagement . . .

More and more people are discovering the philosophy of Ingaged leadership after reading Evan Hackel’s new book, Ingaging Leadership. Of course all of us at Tortal Training love the book. Evan is our CEO, after all. But we feel certain that it is the one book that can revolutionize the way you lead your organization.