Creating positivity and belonging

Branch Manager Eric leads with passion, empathy, and understanding, creating positivity and belonging within his team. As a dedicated, supportive leader, Eric shares what it is like for a new hire's first 30 days on his team.

I assign our new hires with a mentor or a certified trainer. I like to do weekly check-ins where the three of us are able to meet. I think that builds confidence, which is really what I want for our new hires. I want them to understand that we aren’t just providing them with gear and the tools, but also the overall basics of how the business works, how to be safe, and other important things like information on pay and benefits. Once they’ve established these fundamentals, it lays the foundation for them. Connecting this with field training means they are seeing and hearing it but also actually doing it. This approach really works to build their confidence. Once they get established, the sky’s the limit. Gaining confidence within the first 30 days, can help you feel good, supported and trained well.

Normally, during their first week, they’ve got a lot of content to learn. I don’t like to put them in the field until they’ve been through safety. I take it a bit slow in that first week. As they move into their second week, I like to provide them with field time with their mentor. New hires will do ride-alongs to learn firsthand what task we’ll be asking them to do. Then, I gradually introduce back and forth interactions where the new hire will either be in the office or in the field. I like adding structure. The main thing I want to do in the first 30 days is to teach new hires the basics.

Obviously, we want to recognize folks anytime we get together. Part of my work is to continue to keep the culture high, so even with new hires, I acknowledge their anniversary, birthday, and things of that nature, so they can be recognized in that way. My team has an ongoing communicative text thread to highlight our individual accomplishments. We try to promote each colleague to help create a sense of belonging. New hires receive great support, and it’s nothing that we demand. It’s more of an expectation amongst all the colleagues. As a new hire, you don’t have to wait; there is no initiation period. You are part of the team day one.

New hires will gain realistic knowledge of their job by going beyond just their immediate responsibilities. This adds a whole different level of credibility and a deeper respect to themselves, all of their colleagues, and our customers. If a new hire can experience different job functions within the first 30 days, it can help build that camaraderie and unity amongst the team.

I’ve worked with a lot of coworkers, leaders that I’d reported to and frontline colleagues that I’ve worked with, and one of the main things that you can do in this business is be flexible. First and foremost, you want to do your job. Try to do it at the highest level that you can. However, if you’re wanting to do something else within the organization, start doing that now. Don’t wait to get a title or get hired; start doing those functions and be flexible. I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years, so if that’s not your cup of tea, it could be a challenging organization to work for, but if you are looking to be on your toes, this job is as fresh today as it was when I started. I’ve still got challenges myself, so remain flexible, keep an open mind, and know that change is going to happen.