Mastering the welcome for new employees is critical for engagement and retention.

Once someone makes it through the screening and interview process, they enter a phase of initiation. Even if a prospective employee takes the job offered to them, there is still a chance that they will quit showing up without warning. Often, this failure to launch can be avoided with strategic welcome processes.

Welcome processes start long before the employee has their start date, extending back as far as the successful interview.

The goal is to get them excited and inspired to show up because they know they will be appreciated and valued as an individual immediately. 

Here's how the QLT framework would help you Master the Welcome:

• Structuring pre-start engagement
• Planning a warm in-person welcome on the first day
• How to assign a "stay navigator" mentor who is specifically equipped and had workload reduced to be available full-time to the new employee for guidance, questions, and helping them learn how things are done at that organization through the first 90 days

We throw around words like “welcome” and “onboarding” in our organizations all the time but don’t always know what concretely makes a welcome effective or an onboarding successful.

Studies continually show that the first 90 days with you make or break the productivity, profitability, creativity, and longevity of your employees.

The first 90 days are the most important days in the new employee's life and also the leader leading them. It is a time to establish trust, connection, and expectations instead of hoping it happens by chance.

A proper onboarding strategy will make a new hire feel inspired and valued, while also granting access to all the resources needed to make an immediate impact within the organization. 

Here's how the QLT framework would help you Structure your Onboarding:

• Developing a comprehensive checklist of all the skills, responsibilities, processes, policies, and expectations the new employee needs to learn in their first 90 days and beyond
• How to transfer knowledge from existing employees and leaders about how things are specifically done at that organization rather than expecting new employees to just figure it out
• How to ensure new employees are progressing in practicing skills and meeting expectations, providing coaching as needed

When most organizations think of "fun" at work, they think of non-focused, and non-productive activities. That doesn't mean employees should be lost in play time while things need to be done, but leaders should encourage an enjoyable environment where employees are able to work in their strength zones.

Individuals within your organization will find fulfillment and satisfaction (FUN) when they are able to use their unique abilities to accomplish meaningful goals and are recognized by those around them. 

Many organizations have gotten so used to management by paycheck that we think getting our employees to work is about creating the right pressure through goals, accountability, and strict oversight. Most leaders are shocked by what happens when we shift the engagement dynamic and set our teams up to work inside their strengths to accomplish their goals.

Here's how the QLT framework would help you Ignite Fun Through Strengths:

• Administering assessments like DISC to understand communication and work style preferences for self-awareness and awareness of others
• How to discuss strengths and passions with employees to understand how to motivate and engage them
• How to reference employee strengths when making role assignments, promotions, and developing growth plans to keep employees playing to their natural talents
• How to use strengths as a guide for coaching conversations and goal-setting to keep employees energized, motivated, and performing at their best

Most leaders do more harm than good when they engage in the practice coined in healthcare as “rounding.” I’ve seen it outside medical settings too; the supervisor or big leader swoops in for a drive-by update session. Maybe they toss in a “hi, how are you” before they lob random information or fire off questions from their list of open loops.

Simply showing up may be better than never showing your face to your team, but you can and should do better.

This tactic is called C2 Rounding, meaning the rounding session is made up of two Cs that amplify one another: Connecting Conversations. 

The primary objective for rounding must be to develop an authentic connection to the people you are working with.

Connection doesn’t just happen; this tactic is all about developing connectedness with your team, even if the current culture feels hostile. In order for the round to give a high return on time invested (ROTI), you need quality communication to take place inside of that connection. 

Rounding has come to represent a sort of leadership busywork; checking the boxes that some C-Suite officials decided would make our companies run better. But if you elevate your rounding process to practice Connecting Conversations, you form a pathway for continuous improvement.

Here's how the QLT framework would help you Commit to C-Square Rounding:

• How to schedule rounding meetings regularly with each employee
• How to create psychological safety so employees feel comfortable sharing honestly without fear of judgment
• How to demonstrate care and support for employees as whole people, not just workers
• How to build trust and strong relationships that help retain top talent and prevent burnout 

Mentoring and developing the talent in your organization is one of the most lucrative activities you will undertake. This is because as Laurie Bassi and Daniel McMurrer put it, “For many companies, employees are the only source of long-term competitive advantage.” 

When researchers talk about measuring the return on Human Capital Management (HCM), they’re talking about the impact these mentoring and talent development activities have on the bottom line today and the profit outlook for the future.

Businesses go under every day because of lost battles with cash flow that spring from poorly performing teams. Turnover brings the cost of training, resourcing, and workload maneuvering. During the transition, many companies see dips in customer satisfaction, employee retention, and recruitment. Innovation takes a back seat to survival, and the net result is year after year your company doesn’t reach its potential. 

Like living month to month on a tight paycheck, your company’s competitive advantage is vulnerable to mistakes, missed opportunities, and sub-par performance. Instead of stabilizing and expanding existing successes, your team keeps going in the ring to fight for a dwindling pool of half-satisfied customers. 

Stabilized workflow, consistent performance, and innovation toward growth won’t happen in an annual seminar. The kind of finetuning required to unlock the potential and excellence of your team happens in the trenches of daily work. 

Here's how the QLT framework would help you Guide and Course Correct:

• How to utilize tools like regular C-squared rounding 
• How to provide supportive coaching to get to the root of issues, set expectations, and create an action plan to course-correct
• How to adjust processes, resources, or responsibilities as needed through course corrections to set the employee up for success