TEAM INTRODUCTION

Youssef Daoud graduated from the French university of Egypt faculty of business and information system with a master M1 degree in information system, works as a technical support specialist in Database analysis in TERADATA EGYPT with a background in sales and marketing experience.

PROJECT SUPERVISORS

Dr. Amr Osman

A brief introduction (8 lines or less)

INTRODUCTION

A new hire evolution is basically a process for the simplest way to transform someone who is called a “new hire” in his company to a fully functioning employee and the most efficient and easiest way to do it will be to follow simple steps and each step requires an amount of time that can only be determined by his direct manager and his team members.

New hires are temporary or permanent additions to the employment roll including former employees who are rehired but have not been called back from a layoff. After doing some searches I found that in most of the companies, a new hire is still called so until he finishes at least 1 year at his position.

My company is Teradata Egypt, it is one of the major companies in data warehousing, it creates the biggest databases for clients such as banks and hardware companies like Apple and HSBC and others.

The company is located in San Diego in the united states of America.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE

Construct a business plan to study the best and fastest way to transform a new hire into an employee, knowing that the time frame depends on the country he is in and the culture of the place he will be working in.

PROJECT IMPORTANCE & VALUE ADDED

I chose this particular project “A new hire evolution” because as I was a new hire in my company it took me over 6 months to become a fully functioning employee with the ability to resolve issues for customers without asking or taking the opinion of one of my older colleagues.

After doing some searches and some personal tests with a new hire that came a year after I was employed I discovered a way to make him an employee in less than my 6 months and it worked.

The first and most important step is for the new hire to get to know all of his team members on a professional level and also on a personal level.

These team members are his teachers, he will learn everything from them starting from scratch, if he can’t trust them and depend on them in lots of situations, he does not belong in their team as he will always be considered an outsider to the team.

A welcome meeting with all the team members in it to make him feel that he is welcomed in the team and to make him realize that one day someone in this team will depend on him so he have to gain their trust.

The most important part in this team meeting is that it should not be conducted at the company, it should be held in a café or a restaurant. This will certainly break the ice, make them relax and open to each other.

That way the new hire can understand and know his limits with his new team, everything else like the company’s history, his job preferences, the salary, the overtime, the working hours, the vacations…etc. will automatically come later.

The second step is for the new hire to know everything about his company’s history, because if he got asked by some of his friends about his company and he couldn’t answer, he will feel embarrassed that he doesn’t know his company’s background and also it gives to the others a bad image about the company itself, that one of its employee do not have an idea about the company where he works.

Knowing the history of your company is one of the biggest parts of the job of any new hire, instead of wasting the time for every new hire to search the internet and ask his friends about the company’s history, it can be presented to him on his very first day at work.

The third step is for the new hire

1. STRATEGIZING BUSINESS IDEA

1.1. STRATEGIC FOUNDATION

1.1.1. Mission Statement:

Transform any new hire to a fully functioning employee in less than 3 months..

1.1.2. Vision Statement:

Create the fastest, easiest and simplest way to transform a new hire to an employee.

1.1.3. Core Values:

Seeking to create a great work environment for the employees and regularly motivating them to perform with excellence and to evolve faster in their job

Consistently seeking new and innovative ideas to accelerate the transformation process.

1.1.4. Key Success Factors:

1. Having the experience of applying the process on one of the new hires in my company.2. Passing by the new hire experience when I first start working at my company, which makes it

easier in putting me in the place on some occasions for some tests.

1.2. BUSINESS MODEL

Table (1) Business Model

COMPONENT CONTENT

Strategic Partners The new hires, as they will be those who will help evolve this project.

Managers, same as the new hires, they will need this to work more than we do to save time in the hiring process.

Trainers, by giving their constant opinions and their point of view about how this can evolve to the better.

Any team members, as they will be the most important part in it because this process depends mostly on how they will behave towards new hires.

Key Activities The main activity would be to get the support of the managers and their teams in order for the process to work.

Key Resources Managers reports, it is to give us a strong point of view to know whether the process is working or not and how to update it.

New hires’ opinion, if they find it really hard to follow the process.

Team members, they are also part of the process, having their constant opinion about the process will always help building a full report.

Value Proposition Saving time in the hiring process.

Customer Relationship B2B: This is when a major company would like to use our process on their new hires; the cost to get this relation going is to have a good and easy to understand report explaining all the steps.

B2C: This is a direct contact with the new hire, in which we deal directly with him urging him to buy the process or the book where he can find the steps in order for him to be able to get promoted as fast as he can.

Distribution Channels Proposals sent via E-mail (Before the launching of the report).with example for a successful try on a new hire.

Word of mouth (After the launching), by depending on users to tell their managers and their colleagues about the process.

Social Media (After launching) coverage to help the promotion remotely.

Customer Segments Companies hiring lots of new hires.

Managers, who wants to get a better team faster.

New companies, opening in the market and needs to get bigger fast.

Cost Structure Having the approvals from managers to try the process and giving us a report about it.

Printing the process and providing it in the market.

Promoting the book..

1.2. SWOT ANALYSIS

1.2.1. SWOT analysis

Table (1) SWOT analysis

STRENGTHS

Being the first to introduce the idea and plan of the new hire evolution.Having the chance to test it on a new hire and seeing good results.The main project can evolve into many other types of evolutions for other types of jobs and companies.Being able to collect all the information needed using my own experience as a new hire.

WEAKNESSES

Relying on only one test subject.Not being able to test on more subject as per the company’s policy.

OPPORTUNITIES

Major Companies constantly seeking new and creative training programs to provide to their new hires.Almost all the companies will need to use such process for new hires to give themselves the chance to grow the company in many other directions and to promote those who have the required experiences.

THREATS

Having my project refused by my manager..Political events in the country may have a negative impact on the time factor in doing the required researches.Any new hires that are not right for the job can use this process and still not work with them right.Unpredicted events from new hires can affect the time factor of the process.

1.2.2. How to overcome the threats & Weaknesses

In order to overcome my threats:

Explaining my project in details and being always ready for any questions of any kinds

concerning the process.

Adjusting the process in a way that can make it virtual to be worked from home to stay

away of danger and not waste time.

Clarify to the new hire before starting the process that he should have the right education

and background for the job he is about the start.

Make sure that the new hire empties the required amount of time in order for the process

to be complete and correctly followed up.

In order to overcome my weaknesses:

Having more test subject before publishing the process.

Because most of the companies do not allow having tests on their new hires, as they are

passing through a critical phase in their working life, this can be tried on only one new hire in

several companies to give us a chance to study more than one environment.

Welcoming a new hire:

The reception of the new hires is a milestone in his loyalty, whether he was new to the career or professionally trained.

In a context of shortage occupations, it is very important that the newcomer gets a quick and a good image of the company, organization, communication with colleagues, etc..

You can facilitate his integration by giving him comprehensive information on the types of operations the company is running; and also by allowing him to quickly become operational on the job.

1. Preparing for the arrival of the new hire:a. Know the objectives and modalities of the host in the company (establishing its

terms of reference with its hierarchy)b. Provide a welcome booklet form or documentation to the employee.c. Check the physical aspects of the company (clothing, tools ...)

2. Allow the employeea. Talk with him about his careerb. Presenting the company's expectations and those of customers: objectives,

deadlines, quality, etc..

Locate the roles in the organization of work: define the relationship within the team (along with other daily) and between teams from one site (if the employee changes teams) Locate activity the employee in the company

Explain the safety and comment on the content of the home book

3 - Provide the employee

Introduce the team (explain what each one does) and help the new employee to attend

Arrange a tour of the company and its various services

The 10 things you should do to perform your best at an interview as a new hire:

First of all you should remember that and interview is a give and take conversation with a new person, so respect the interviewer but be yourself.

1. Arrive early:a. Take the pressure of yourself by leaving home early in case of traffic or transit

delays, it also gives you time to review your notes or company materials and see what’s happening in the reception area, after all arriving one hour early is always better than arriving five minutes late.

2. Know about the position:a. Companies don’t often do the best job in describing the requirements of a job, so

before you go into details about your background ask if they can confirm or discuss the position and its expectations, this will give you a good idea of where to focus your discussion.

3. Listen carefully to questions:a. Make sure you understand each question before you answer; your understanding

is often a major part of their evaluation process, if you don’t understand though it’s really smart to ask.

4. Always be positive:a. If you want to blow an interview, be negative; you should always answer a

question in a positive manner, even when discussing a difficult situation always express the positive side of what you learned from that experience.

5. Tailor your resume:a. Adjust your positioning statement and highlights of your previous jobs to the

needs of the position.b. This will give the interviewer an idea of what you did that matches their needs.

6. Delay salary discussions:a. In the early stages of an interview process you should be 100% focused on the job

itself, if asked about the salary always answer with “I’m open to what’s fair compensation for the position” in case they persist to know then state either your salary history or future first job at a college where you understand what the market is.

7. Make the interview a conversation:a. The best interviews have happened when you and the interviewer each talk the

same amount of time.b. To assure this happens, answer each question directly and don’t ramble and then

follow up with a question of your own and listen real closely to the answers you’ll get.

8. Know what the next steps are after the interview:

a. If it’s not clear what the next steps are, ask, using questions such as “What are the next steps?” or “What is your time frame for filling the position?” then keep quiet and let the interviewer do the talking.

b. These questions indicates your interest, also don’t forget to thank the interviewer for his time.

9. Complete your notes:a. After the interview make notes covering what you learned about the job

expectations, the company and the people you’ve met.b. These information will be vital if the process continues or on future interviews for

similar positions.10. Always send a follow-up letter:

a. Sending a brief follow up letter within 24 hours thanking each interviewer demonstrate interest and professionalism.

b. It’s always a good idea to draft those letters before the interview so you won’t forget.

c. A quick response will always be remembered, so remember that your goal is to be remembered.

Early in your career, employers are searching for a talent to help them build momentum and facilitate changes, however no matter how many years you work, your employer will always want these attributes, now according to a survey of corporate recruiters by the national association of colleges and employers, the top 10 characteristics of new hires in order of importance are:

1. Communication skills:a. These still save time, reduce conflicts, minimize mistakes and facilitate change.b. The better you were able to communicate both writing and verbally the more

successful you’ll be.

2. Honesty and Integrity:a. Your ability to have people to trust you will be a magnet of all sorts of

opportunities; don’t ever make a mistake here.

3. Teamwork skills:a. You success will be largely based on your ability to work with others.

4. Interpersonal skills:a. Your ability to work with other people is the key to success, so be open minded

and flexible.

5. Motivation Initiative:a. Taking positive action especially when others are slower to do so, demonstrates

leadership.

6. Strong Work Ethic:

a. It’s really much more a manner of attitude than energy.

7. Analytical Skills:a. The ability to logically approach a problem is via to the solution and it’s

attributing in getting hired and advancing.

8. Flexibility/Adaptability:a. It’s always about your ability to work well with other people; we are social

animals so you need to work on a continuous basis to improve in this critical skill area.

9. Computer Skills:a. This skill reflects the basic business desktop communication environment. So

using a laptop with Microsoft word and excel at a minimum as well as functioning in a wireless environment is the way business gets done today.

10. Self-Confidence:a. Your opinion will be respected more if you project confidence that you really

know what you are talking about.

These ten attributes that employers say they want from new hires is exactly what they want from all their employees and rightfully so.

The importance of knowing who you really are:

It’s important to work a job that maximize your strength, doing what you are good at, build self-esteem, confidence and allows you to apply leadership in group situations.

Know your strengths and weaknesses, to be cautious about your weaknesses and how to compensate for them will help you know when to let others lead the way.

Take a personal or a professional assessment if you haven’t already taken one, do it now, there are many assessment tools to help you better know yourself, most of the good assessment will cost money, but they are really worthy investment in you, however what is most important is that you have a strong awareness of your five strongest strengths and that you are honest with yourself about your weaknesses.

Know how to best use your strength and don’t over utilize them, be careful not to have your strength dominate groups that you are working with, for example if you are a great communicator or a great public speaker let others speak too, and if you are quick at problem solving don’t forget to let others get involved.

Be mindful of your “Caution Areas” and work on improving them, we all have weaknesses and you should be aware of what they are, more importantly you must be able to

recognize when these weaknesses are likely to surface and work on ways to improving those areas.

Know what excites you, what you’re good at, and what role suits you best, it is essential to do work that excites you and work that you are good at. It’s also important to know that roles and responsibilities which you are best suited for. The assessments discusses above will easily help you determine the role that’s most suitable for you.

Know how others perceive you, working with people is critical for long time success, you need to have a very good idea how others see you, knowing your strengths and weaknesses styles and personal characteristics is critical for your ability to advance in organizations.

Tough Situations:

Any new hire will face tough situations when changing jobs; let’s talk about the toughest things about changing jobs from company to another:

Your career will have on average eleven job changes, many of these jobs changes while we agree and some will not.

For the most part, these changes will be good for you even the ones that are forces upon you, between the time you know that you’ll be leaving your old job until you start working in your new job, you will be in transition.

Let us discuss about transitions and how to deal with them as new hires:

William Bridges was an American author, speaker, and organizational consultant. He emphasized the importance of understanding transitions as a key for organizations to succeed in making changes; he also describes transitions in three phases.

1. Endings.a. When you leave a job for whatever reason you lose several things:

i. Relationships with individuals and groups.ii. Structure and routines.

iii. Sense of security.iv. Feeling of being valued.v. A sense of place and location.

vi. Recognition.

You must recognize that these losses are temporary and the quicker you accept the reality, the quicker you can move on to something better.

2. Neutral Zone.

This is the most difficult phase of being in transition because you are dealing with the unknown about you and your future.Recognize however that you will go through many transitions in your career and you must learn to deal with them by doing the following:

i. Understand that this process is normal.ii. Communicate with the others that you are going through a transition.

a. The chances are, they have experienced a similar situation as well.iii. Strengthen connections with old friends and support groups.iv. Use your time creatively to plan a future and learn new things.

The most exciting thing about a Neutral Zone is that it ends and that end is called the beginning.

3. New beginnings.

In the beginning of a new job either in a new company or not, you will find:

i. New people.ii. New beliefs.

iii. New responsibilities iv. New ways of doing things.

Recognize that these changes are also normal they allow you to share what you have learned in your prior experiences and to grow professionally and personally new experiences.

What you should have here is the right attitude; successful professionals accept life changes and seize new opportunities so should you.

The interview process is basically a series of questions and answers, and you should ask a lot of those questions, by asking the right questions you can accomplish two things:

1. You get the information you needs to match your qualifications to the job.2. You get information you can use to determine if you really want the job anyway.

You should prepare questions for every interview and they should cover five distinct points:

1. The position responsibilities:a. You must ask what the major responsibilities of the job are, what task need to be

accomplished and in what time frame.b. It’s always a good idea to ask about what needs immediate attention.c. Ask about the career path with someone in the position as well.

2. Resources available to accomplish the job responsibilities:

a. Don’t take for granted that the resources needed to successfully complete a job are always provided, you should to meet some people who work in the company.

b. Ask if the company provides training and the needed tools to accomplish the job.c. For example:

i. If you will work for sales, ask how the company reimburses you for travel entertainment expenses.

3. Level of authority:a. The key question to ask here is the sufficient authority that exists for you to act on

your responsibilities.b. Find out about your authorities to direct staff or use needed company resources.c. Be sure you’ll understand all the relationships including your boss, peers and if

appropriate your subordinates.d. For example:

i. If your work needs support from an administrative assistant or an analyst, do you have the authority to tell that person what to do?

4. Performance Measurement:a. This is the question most often neglected by job candidates; in order for you to

succeed you need to know how you will be measured and evaluated.b. Ask how the job appraisal works.c. For example:

i. If you are responsible about complete 5 particular monthly reports, determine how their completion relates to your evaluation.

5. Company Culture:a. Getting things done is different in each company, you should ask if

communication is formal or informal, if decision making is centralized or decentralized and if management is really collaborative.

b. For example:i. If you are a person who operates with the minimum of supervision, you

may not want to work for a company that requires you to report your progress on a daily baisis.

Always remember that this is your life’s work and asking questions is your responsibility and your questions will be respected by interviewers in really good companies.

Establish a good working relationship with your boss:

I spent most of my time focused on what I had to accomplish on a daily basis and very little on the success of my company and building a relationship with my boss.

This is because I didn’t appreciate the value of that relationship and because I didn’t really know how to build it. What I have learned after reading many reports written by executives is the importance of that relationship and how to build it.

First you must learn the strategy:

You need to look at your boss as a human with both strengths and weaknesses, because your goal is build a collaborative relationship with your both.

Understand that in order for you to succeed you need his support and he needs yours, of all the relationships you will have in your career, this one is the most critical.

Think of it like a marriage having 4 different stages:

1. The dating period:a. When you get to know each other.

2. The wedding:a. When you agree to work together.

3. A honeymoon:a. When everything is rosy and mistakes are easily forgiven.

4. The longer term:a. The period when reality and pressure of daily work life past the relationship.

The better you get to know your boss, the better you will work together.

Here are six things that you need to know and understand about your boss:

1. His skills:a. Know what skills your boss possesses and those he does not have or the things

your boss hates to do.b. Learn from his skills and recognize that the things he hates to do, are great

opportunities for you to fill in the gap and build that relationship.2. His motivations:

a. Know the goals and challenges your boss faces and find ways to help him meet those goals and challenges.

3. His blind spots:a. What weakness does your boss possesses that cause organizational difficulties for

him.b. For example:

i. If he has problems organizing his presentations, find ways to make that process more organized for him.

4. His communication style:a. How does your boss prefer to receive information, just in time or with a long lead

time; regularly or on a need to know basis; does he like information on a big picture or does he like complete details.

b. If you are not sure, you need to ask him.5. His decision making style:

a. What decision does your boss needs to make and what decision does he expect you to make, what information does your boss needs from you to make those decisions.

i. For example:1. What data, reports and formats does your boss need from you and

by when.6. His work style:

a. Is your boss a morning or a night person.b. Is he comfortable in chaos or does he prefer complete structure and order.

The only way to find out this information is for you and your boss to meet regularly and discuss these things.

“Regular communications is the key to any good working relationship.”

Here are the five principles to guide you in managing your relationship with your boss:

1. Clarify roles and expectations:a. It is essential that you and your boss clearly express that you play and exactly

what you are expected to produce and which priorities comes first.b. You should discuss needed resources, time frames and challenges for you and

your boss.c. Roles and expectations should be constant and regularly scheduled discussions.

2. Get constant feedback:a. You need to know how you are being measured and how you are doing against

those measurementsb. You should set frequent meetings to discuss how you are doing and do not accept

vague answers.c. Ask questions and develop a format of specific content for all of these meetings.

3. Keep your boss in the loop:a. Don’t be a lone ranger and go on big projects or large initiatives without letting

your boss know about it.b. You don’t want to embarrass your boss by leading a project and him finding out

from a third party in the company.c. This does not mean that you can’t act independently, just make sure that you let

your boss know what you are doing and allow for his feedback to come before others and make sure you use the communication method that he prefers.

4. Earn his trust:a. Know what your boss’s priorities are.b. Know what pressures he has.c. Make yourself available in a manner which is convenient to him.

d. It’s always a good idea to spend some none work one on one time to let him share his work concerns beyond your relationship, this will give you an idea of other ways that you can help your boss.

5. Don’t waste your boss’s time:a. Be an asset to your boss, not a burden.b. Play your time together in a manner that will make his time most productive, this

will demonstrate respect and professionalism.

All relationships take time and effort from both parties, but in managing your boss, you should take the lead.

In order to get better in your job, and by job I mean any type or kind of job you are doing in your life, you will need to develop “life skills”

Life skills are things you do which make you better, more productive and more valuable to people around you.

Here are the seven most important life skills that you will need to get better fast in your career:

1. Be as organized as possible:a. If you want to be successful, it helps a lot to be organized, especially if you are

not normally an organized person.b. Set up basic files, address books and a to-do list.

i. Using Microsoft outlook is very good place to start.2. Help others and give back to society:

a. It gives you a much better perspective to deal with all types of people in challenges situations; in addition it gives you great overall exposure.

3. Be open to learning new things:a. Your life should be a constant learning experienceb. The more knowledge and experiences you have the greater your capacity to

contribute and advance in your organization.4. Practice good time management:

a. Everyone has 24 hours a day to accomplish things; learn to manage your time wisely.

b. You must have a schedule to manage your daily and weekly activities.5. Develop communication and presentation skills:

a. Since your success will require you to convey ideas and results to people you should constantly work on your writing skills, your speaking and your presentation skills.

b. Focus on conveying organized and logical messages, and always show respect to the people with whom you communicate to.

6. Be an independent thinker:a. If you want to add value, don’t just agree, especially when you are uncomfortable

with another person’s conclusion.b. A thoughtful respectful debate will always be appreciated.

7. Do “The right thing” all the time:a. This world includes many people who carelessly do the wrong thing and bring

other innocent people down with them.b. If you refuse to participate in an unethical behavior, in the long run you will win.c. If you do participate in something that you feel is wrong, it could absolutely kill

you career.

No matter what job you have, good life skills will aid you greatly.

Why treat the integration stage for new hires:

To most simple and efficient answer to that question would be to avoid turnover, let me take the chance to elaborate on that.

Neglected integration can lead to resignations. A resigned would testify by saying the following:

“It was too hard, I suddenly found myself alone. I had the pressure then I left”

The time gained on the integration phase will pay dearly when the new employee does not remain in the organism.

The direct cost of breaking is like the 4 or 5 hours of total time spent in the recruitment stage is lost in case of unexpected failure as the 1 to 2 hours minimum to organize the emergency replacement

The indirect cost of breaking is like the time spent by the coaching staff on recruitment or replacement on short notice cannot be spent on other equally important functions such as team management, quality monitoring and the development of the activity.

Allow the new hire to find its place.