10 questions to ask your new employee to keep them motivated and engaged
You’ve run your Positions Vacant ad, interviewed candidates, and settled your new team member into their new role. Now what? How do you get the best from your new team member? If you want your business to thrive you need to surround yourself with a team of A-players. A highly engaged team can lead to increased innovation, productivity and bottom-line performance while reducing the costs and time related to hiring, retention and sub-optimal productivity. Recent research conducted by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services[1] reveals how best-in-class companies gain a competitive advantage by improving their employee engagement. It found that the top 5 most impactful drivers of employee engagement were:
- Recognition is given to high performers
- Individuals have a clear understanding of how their job contributes to strategy
- Leaders continually update/communicate strategy
- Business goals are communicated and understood
- Individual staff goals are aligned with the business goals
In my experience, there are three intervention points critical to the successful engagement and motivation of a new staff member. These are: at the end of their first week in the job; at the end of their first three months; and at the end of their first twelve months. This is your opportunity to recognise high performance, clarify your business strategy and goals, and reinforce how their job contributes to achieving these strategies and goals.
These discussions are best held at a diarised time, in a quiet meeting space, and conducted as a semi-formal to formal business discussion (consistent with your leadership style). Here is a sample of 10 questions for you to ask your new employee during these discussions to establish that they are onboard and engaged with you, your business and your goals:
- Rate your current level of job satisfaction
- Rate the level of challenge in your job
- Rate your desire to take up increased responsibilities in your job
- What is your understanding of your current role and responsibilities; what is the overall purpose of your role?
- What do you feel you’ve done particularly well this week/quarter/year?
- What do you think you could have done differently?
- What areas do you feel you would like/need to develop further in?
- What individual objectives have you set yourself for the next week/quarter/year?
- What, if any, training and professional development needs have you identified to assist you in your role?
- Are there any other issues you would like to discuss?
Good employer/employee discussions are a two way street. Make time on a regular basis to discuss how your new employee is progressing and to recognise what they have done well. Your ongoing commitment to engaging individual members of your team will go a long way towards developing a truly great business.
