Has your nonprofit ever hired someone who doesn’t follow norms other staff members take for granted? Someone who is always late to meetings, or who dresses in suits when everyone else wears jeans?
That individual may be experiencing a bit of office culture shock. He or she – and your whole organization – could probably benefit from efforts designed to help newcomers learn the ropes.
Here is a list of ways to make sure all employees can assimilate and function successfully at work.
1. Assess your culture.
The first step to integrating new employees is acknowledging that your office does, in fact, have a culture.
“Compare it to a fishbowl,” says David Zubl, associate director of development learning programs at the University of Michigan. “When you look inside the fishbowl, you see the gravel, the plants, and the plastic castle but … the water is something you wouldn’t think about.”
But that water, he says, is the equivalent of the atmosphere that allows your organization to function. It’s made up of what everyone says and does at work. And if managers are not aware of what kind of atmosphere their nonprofit has, it can be hard to introduce new people into it.
“If we drop a saltwater fish into a freshwater aquarium, they are not going to do well,” says Judith Malcolm, senior director of executive communications at the University of Michigan’s Office of University Development.
Take time to figure out what’s in your water. Does your nonprofit thrive on collaborative projects or solo work? Are people expected to answer emails after hours? If someone is wearing headphones at her desk, will others assume she’s goofing off or trying to concentrate? Are mobile phones allowed at meetings?
Once you’ve identified officewide work habits and customs, start sharing that information with new staff members.
2. Send signals.
Luckily, new employees can learn to adapt to their new office environment. Such training doesn’t always have to be overt. You can send signals to convey aspects of your office culture. “New people watch and listen for cues,” Mr. Zubl says.
People in positions of authority set the tone for the workplace. For that reason, “I try to be very careful about not sending emails on weekends or at night because I don’t want them to think I’m assuming they’re working,” Ms. Malcolm says.
3. Be explicit.
Not everyone will pick up on cues, so it’s important to spell out workplace guidelines and expectations for job candidates and new employees. Tell people during job interviews if your office has an open floor plan or prohibits working remotely, Ms. Malcolm recommends, so they can consider whether the organization is a good fit.
When the National Trust for Historic Preservation brings on someone new, the human-resources department and the hiring manager review together everything that will happen on the employee’s first day, says Marianna Knight, the department’s vice president. When the employee arrives, a human-resources representative offers “onboarding” by explaining the organization’s policies and values.
“We try to make sure they get a good feel for all the different things they can get up to speed on about the culture of the organization,” Ms. Knight says.
Some employees will need more direct instruction than others. For example, at the National Trust, new interns are briefed by David Field, assistant director of human resources, on rules both general and specific: no flip flops, put away cellphones during meetings, honor your commitments.
At the University of Michigan, Ms. Malcolm asks new employees how they like to communicate and shares her own preferences. She encourages them to walk around and talk to people face-to-face rather than always emailing or sending instant messages because she believes it is important for colleagues to have in-person conversations from time to time.
4. Encourage questions.
Giving new employees permission to ask about how things operate will empower them to seek out information themselves without having to be spoon-fed all the answers.
“We urge new people to ask very specific questions early on with their managers,” Ms. Malcolm says.
Staffers might want to inquire about things like their manager’s preferred method of communication, whether they should come to meetings with formal agendas, when to request time off, or whether they should channel all their emails through their direct supervisor.
5. Be consistent.
It’s easy for managers to lay down the rules and not always follow them. But consistency in adhering to office values is important for all members of the staff, including managers, and across all forms of communication. For example, Mr. Zubl says: “Every time you send an email, you’re transmitting culture.”
Providing the same training for all employees also helps promote consistency. The National Trust, which has staff members in 23 states, brings new employees to its Washington, D.C., headquarters for its annual conference to familiarize them with the organization and its culture.
6. Assign a buddy or mentor.
Peers and mentors can convey culture to new employees, too. At the National Trust, new hires spend time during their first few weeks with co-workers in similar jobs to help them get the lay of the land.
The organization also runs a buddy program to connect new employees with experienced staffers who work in different departments and different locations. The buddies meet in person during their first six months on the job, then check in regularly thereafter when questions arise or events bring them together.
The trust is also developing a mentoring program in which employees are paired off to learn from each other — sometimes peer to peer, sometimes executives with junior staff members.
7. Correct as needed.
Even with training, some new employees won’t pick up all the proper habits right away. You may have to take someone aside, point out what he or she is doing wrong, and provide suggestions for improvement.
Mr. Zubl had a friend from Argentina who consistently showed up late to meetings at his new workplace in the United States. It wasn’t until supervisors explained their expectations for punctuality that he understood how his Argentinian concept of time differed from theirs.
A recent intern at the National Trust was “a little tone deaf” and “didn’t pick up on social cues well,” Ms. Knight says. The intern got frustrated when his suggestions were not immediately adopted. Human resources worked with his supervisor to create talking points for addressing the situation directly. The supervisor communicated that she appreciated the intern’s ideas and was considering them, but that he needed to take into account other processes that occur within the organization and weigh his suggestions against other priorities.
And a new employee of Ms. Malcolm’s developed a habit of sending out emails with grammatical mistakes. She had to tell the employee that, as a member of the communications staff, her emails were held to a higher standard.
Setting new arrivals up for success benefits the entire organization in the long run, so it’s worth the time and effort, leaders say.
“We rely exclusively on our staff; we don’t make widgets;” Ms. Knight says. “We want to make sure our staff has the resources they need.”