Before we get started here, take a minute to reflect on the most memorable moments of your life. What comes to mind? A wedding? The birth of a child? Maybe a graduation or starting a new job?
There’s a common thread in them all: They are emotion-filled transition points. They signify changing from single to married, or from an individual to a parent who is responsible for another life, or from a student into a working adult, or from one team to another that offers better opportunities. Defining moments in our lives are surrounded by emotion, no matter whether they’re happy peaks or low pits. As outlined in one of my favorite books, The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath, we have the ability, as leaders, to improve these moments for the people around us.
Consider the story of Cindy, who excelled throughout her career in sales. She hit a ceiling at her organization, caught wind of an incredible opportunity at another organization, applied, navigated several interviews, and landed her dream job. Her excitement was palpable, and she greatly anticipated the move.
Then there’s the intertwined story of Robert, whose name has been changed to protect the guilty. Robert is a rock-star sales guy and a longtime employee at his company. He was promoted to a vice president role, where his job responsibilities didn’t change much until he needed to hire for a new position. He was excited because this new position could help redefine the organization’s trajectory and, even more important to him, take a great deal of work off his plate.
One Monday, when Robert needed to focus on closing some deals, he decided to work from home. He did that a lot. What he had forgotten this time, though, in the midst of his day-to-day responsibilities and his need to hit budget, was that he had hired Cindy, and Cindy was starting her new dream job on that particular Monday.
It turns out that Robert also forgot to designate a workstation for her, buy her a computer, set up her phone or email address, and tell anyone else that he had hired her. She knocked on a locked office door and tried to explain that she was supposed to start working for Robert that day.
As you can imagine, Robert’s absence and everything else related to Cindy’s transition was entirely deflating, to say the least. Not only was her new company ill-prepared for her start date, but it did nothing to demonstrate a similar level of excitement. Many apologies were offered, but no onboarding process followed. Within a couple of months, Cindy returned, disappointed, to her previous employer.
This is a true story. Not surprisingly, it happens regularly. In fact, after a presentation I gave sharing this same story (and the importance of a good onboarding program), a dealer pulled me aside and admitted he had done something similar to a new hire. That’s not exactly the way you want to onboard a new team member.
In our work lives, we are witness to many transitions. The new hires we add to the team, the promotions our team members earn, the boat buyers who purchase their first boat, and so forth. Every transition, every milestone, is an opportunity for a leader to create powerful, memorable moments.
This past month at the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, our team has focused our Spotlight (MRAA.com/spotlight) efforts on tips for onboarding new employees (found at mraa.com/employeeonboarding). A high-quality onboarding process has become a passion of ours, and the MRAA has instituted a formal onboarding process that ensures we are not only ready for new team members, but also that we demonstrate how excited we are about their arrival. This effort makes the new team members understand from the moment they walk in the door that they are valuable contributors to our mission, our vision and our values.
A focused onboarding process makes a world of difference for the culture of the organization and for how quickly new hires become effective contributors. Our Spotlight page has many tips, and if you’re interested in what our own plan looks like, reach out to me.
In the meantime, make a note that onboarding new customers can also be powerful for word-of-mouth marketing, and repeat and referral business. Think of such a program as a delivery process on steroids — incorporating more staff members, step-by-step processes and talking points, introduction to all areas of your business, a stringent post-sale follow up program and more. Just as you want to set up an employee for long-term contributions, you also want to set up customers for a long-term relationship.
In business, as in life, being intentional about the special moments can go a long way.
Matt Gruhn is president of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas.
This article was originally published in the May 2023 issue.
