Wisdom of Flight Attendants

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard!  Please turn your attention to the flight attendant nearest you for our safety demonstration. Please follow along with the safety placard located in the seat pocket in front of you.

When I was on a plane recently, I actually listened to the pre-flight speech.  It helped that is was Southwest, and the flight attendant was rapping, but it really was nice to be welcomed enthusiastically and to be reminded of the dos and don’ts and that my safety is important.

And it made me think about how we bring people onboard our teams.

I recently heard that in the first 90 days 70-75% of people decide how long they’re going to stay with a new company.  While you can’t get off the plane, your new hires can get off your team.  This makes your informal onboarding even more important than your formal orientation. So here are some questions to ask yourself about your onboarding process.

–  Do you and your team members enthusiastically welcome new hires? 
–  As a manager, do you take time to explain your expectations, your do’s and don’ts? 
–  Do you try to make new hires feel “safe” – letting them know where to find resources they need and making yourself available if they can’t? 
–  Are you helping them connect with key people in the organization? 
–  Are you making them feel confident in their decision by giving them the work they came to do and listening to what they hope to accomplish in the role?

And this brings me to the closing statement that flight attendant gave: We know you have many choices when you fly. Thank you for flying with us.  The kind of people you want to hire, the great ones, have choices too. So taking the time to thank them for joining is a smart idea!