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HOW TO EFFECTIVELY JUMP
START NEW FINANCIAL AID
EMPLOYEES
Thomas Ratliff
MASFAA President
AVP, Indiana Wesleyan University
Investing In Your New Hire
Investing in Your New Hire
First Day Job Orientation
How many of us have experienced
something similar?
Investing In Your New Hire
What are your goals for your
employees?
• Strong Work Ethic
• Performs role well
• Works well with other staff members
• Assimilates into office cultures
• Passion for their work
• Brings a fresh perspective
Investing In Your New Hire
What you do in the first few weeks
directly impacts whether your new
hire meets your goals.
You Set:
• the culture of your office
• the expectations and standards
• the tone of the office
• the response that others have to your new hire
• the work-life balance behavior
Welcome To Our Office!
Make it clear that new hire is wanted and
welcome
• Set office/cubicle up before new hire starts
with all office equipment
• Tidy up the office/wipe off surfaces
• Be transparent about concerns/issues within
the office
• Consider a “Welcome to the Office” gift
The Human Element
“What does it mean to build an organization
that’s as human as the human beings who
work there? Many organizations have never
left the factory mentality behind even as
society’s challenges have changed.”
(Polly LaBarre; Former Sr. Editor, Fast Company Magazine; Business Book of the Year
Best Seller: “Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win” ).
The Human Element
Anticipate your New Hire’s office culture
questions before they ask.
• What do we do for birthdays?
• Is anyone allergic to anything?
• Can I decorate my office?
• When do I go to lunch?
• How do I ask for vacation?
• How flexible is my work schedule?
The Human Element
Allow for several ways that your new hire
can relate to current staff:
• When introducing new hire to others, mention
what they have in common with each other
• “Tell us your story in 30 seconds”
• Include new hire on staff emails immediately
• Invite new hire to have lunch with you and your
boss
Provide Ongoing Support
• If possible, hire two employees at the same time
to provide solidarity.
• Adapt your techniques and goals to fit employee’s
strengths and preferences.
• Point out a colleague who can answer questions
whenever you are not available.
• Be approachable to both the new hire and to
current staff. New hire is watching how you treat
everyone else, too.
Provide Ongoing Support
• Spend time with the New Hire daily
• Introduce New Hire to everyone in the office the
first week and everyone in key additional offices
in the first month
• Keep an open door policy
• Provide frequent and concrete feedback
• Be blunt—ask them what is working and what
isn’t once you develop a rapport with them
Provide Ongoing Support
• Provide honest and open feedback often. Don’t wait
for a formal review or for new hire to ask you for
feedback.
• Don’t force New Hire to share, but encourage them to
interact with other staff whenever possible.
• Quickly address any concerns that current staff may
have about New Hire.
• At the end of formal training (60-90 days), debrief
and ask for feedback on what worked well for them
and what could have gone better during their
training.
Training – Where to Begin
• Environmental Training
• Identifying resources
• Support services
• Intangibles
• Setting expectations
• Building encouragement
Training – Emphasize Basics
• Computers
• Ensure access is crystal clear
• Write out a basic template
• Give paths to key screens or terms
• Build an understanding of one primary area
right away
Training – Emphasize Basics
• Timing
• Give an overview of normal expectations for
their job
• Have them shadow a peer during a time when
they can learn something
• Quality Control
Training – Emphasize Basics
• Pick one thing they can master quickly
• Select an aspect of the new employee’s job that
they can likely learn quickly
• Teach them that early in the training process
• Let them take some ownership of that step as
soon as possible
• This will help them know they are contributing
while also growing
Training: Variety = Who?
• Direct supervisor should be well engaged
• But, you shouldn’t do all the training
• Get help from around the office or division
• Increases the variety of the experience
• Reinforces personal support for the newbie
• Relieves pressure from you
• Builds relationships
Training: Variety = How?
• Use a variety of tools
• FSA Coach
• Basic, Intermediate, Advanced Training options
• Requires a username and password plus some
instructions on how to use it and what to
complete, but good federal overview
information is here for the taking
• https://ifap.ed.gov/ifap/fsacoach.jsp
Training: Variety = How?
• NASFAA Authorized Training Events
• Excellent topical resource for fundamentals
• Can easily pick and choose the subject matter
that is applicable for a given day of training
• PowerPoints and written materials readily
available
• Credentials (Go WV!!)
Training: Variety = How?
• Personal touch
• Pool a combination of resources together to
give variety to the day’s work for your new
staff
• Let the different segments compliment
each other
• The staff member is likely to connect with
one of the ways the info is delivered
Training – Big Picture
• Resist the temptation to just train them on
their specific jobs only
• Help them see their involvement in the
bigger department and school goals
• Staff may commit more to the quality of
their work if they see where it fits in a
greater movement
Make it FUN
• Life is better when you enjoy it
• The more creative and fun the training is,
the less likely your new staff member will
second guess their employment change
• Give them reasons to go home happy each
night
• (Do the same for your other staff!
)
Repeat and Test
• Using a variety of tools can help reemphasize
the information from different angles
• Formal tests are scary – don’t go there
• Pop quizzes work
• Use them frequently without warning during
conversations
Whatdoyathink?
What other successful new employee
approaches have you seen or experienced?
HOW TO EFFECTIVELY JUMP
START NEW FINANCIAL AID
EMPLOYEES
Thomas Ratliff
MASFAA President
AVP, Indiana Wesleyan University
[email protected]