Team Member Experience Path
Stage 5: Immersion
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Click here to view and download the
Team Member Experience Path Overview.
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It has been exciting to share the 7 Steps in the Team Member Experience Path with our Business Partners and Friends throughout 2021!
This month we are exploring Stage 5 – Immersion. We have articulated the 7 Steps in the Team Member Experience Path to provide Leader Managers with a methodology to reinforce strategic thinking as well as share practical tools to foster the highest level of Team Member engagement and workplace performance.
Following a hiring offer and acceptance, the 90 Day H.O.T. Zone meter starts ticking and the critical window for setting and managing expectations opens. Consider the fact that a Team Member is new to your organization until their very first anniversary date of hire is marked on the calendar. Recognizing a Team Member has no frame of reference for the previous 364 days has tremendous value. Seizing the opportunity to provide new Team Members with a one-year road map will immerse your colleague in the organization and allow them to navigate their first year with higher levels of confidence, lower anxiety regarding the unknown and demonstrate to them how well you set and manage expectations.
Patrick Lencioni states, “over-communicating clarity leads to organizational health.” Healthy teams are a product of Leader Managers providing the requisite amount of clarity for every individual. There is an old adage; “People don’t know what they don’t know.” Further, they possess varying degrees of ability to ascertain what they do not know, anticipate needs they are unaware of and use resourcefulness to identify solutions to meet needs and solve problems.
A robust immersion process helps provide extreme clarity and addresses what a Team Member does not know. It also helps to provide a forum to practice the habit of anticipating needs and creates channels and mechanisms to give and receive feedback, creating a platform for long term effectiveness.
Memorializing important dates, events, traditions and practices can provide a checklist to help set and manage expectations throughout the year. Below is a partial list of areas to consider and jumpstart thinking about how to create a 12 Month Immersion Plan with and for your new Team Member. We suggest capturing and providing a list of items that may include:
Significant Internal Events – Including Team Member recognition/retirement, client or student appreciation, graduations and achievement gatherings
Annual External Events – Conference, expo, association/trade show meetings/participation
Seasonal Events – Consider events that may apply to the Hospitality, Entertainment or Construction Industries
Opening Days – Such as Back To School, first game of the season, first day of Fishing/Hunting Season, etc.
Production/Supply Chain Impact Points – For example, import/export and/or outdoor equipment companies affecting ordering cycles
Finance/Accounting – Including tax filings and multi state requirements that may not be evident at the time of hire
Human Resources – Annual enrollment or renewal events relating to benefit plans, filings, compliance, recordkeeping, tracking and measuring
The Immersion Stage also applies to providing the amount and degree of support, continuous training, coaching and feedback a Team Member requires as they are exposed to the nuances and unique aspects of their role throughout the first year, keeping in mind, “people don’t know what they don’t know!”
This methodology also identifies and exposes gaps that may exist in the organization regarding practices and processes. If a gap is surfaced, consider if a Team Member could develop a procedure or tool as part of their own developmental process.
From entry level Team Members to the most knowledgeable experts on your Team, we believe it is critical to set people up for success in every step of their employment journey with your organization. The workplace is a vital and life sustaining vehicle where individuals can utilize their gifts, strengths and talents resulting in rewarding and meaningful contributions to others, ultimately bringing mutual value to themselves and the organization.
RESOURCE
Etown Edge
Micro-credential content to help you grow professionally and achieve your goals. Whether you are beginning your career,
or looking for that next promotion, Edge has self-paced modules across a variety of in-demand fields to help you develop your skills.
Join us this fall for Managing From The Inside Out!
Classes begin Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Seven 3-Hour Sessions on Wednesdays
Morning Class: 8:30-11:30
Afternoon Class: 1:30-4:30 P.M.
October 6, 13, 20, 27
November 3, 10, 17
Register today to engage in professional growth and development as a Leader Manager and join us for Managing From The Inside Out! Simply email Katie Williamson at katie@lauraschanz.com to reserve a seat for yourself or a Team Member.