If you run a company, one of your biggest challenges could be getting and keeping good people. The stronger team members tend to be humble, eager, and possess good interpersonal skills. If we have someone with these qualities, we want them to be happy in their work and stay with us a long time.
One of smartest things we can to get new hires off to a solid launch on day one is to make them comfortable and glad they chose us. How do we help ensure this happens?
One of the most effective “welcome aboard” gestures I have seen involved an “in the spotlight” interview. Have the new person sit in a chair in front of the whole team and ask them some “get to know you” questions. In Patriick Lencioni’s book “Five Dysfunctions of a Team”, the author suggests asking questions like these:
What is your home town?
How many kids were in your family?
What is one of your interesting childhood hobbies?
What was your biggest challenge growing up?
What was your first job?
You may have your own favorite questions. It is all about establishing commonality. I remember one instance where a “welcome aboard” interview helped reveal that the new person had a cabin up north that they went to in the summer. As it turned out, someone on the team also had a cabin not far away. That initiated a whole new friendship!
“Welcome aboard” interviews enable us to talk about our favorite subject – us! In doing so commonality is established, and we automatically feel more comfortable with our new team. Remember the saying, “People who are like each other tend to like each other”
