Teach expectations
Finding employees who fit your company would be wasted time if you didn’t then integrate them into it.
“Integration of new folks is the hardest task that a firm faces,” Vincent says. “You can explain things many, many times. But until folks actually join, they can’t understand how we do things.”
So about 10 years ago, to further instill the firm’s expectations, Vincent started a leadership academy with a yearlong program for new employees as well as other courses geared toward preparing associates for partnership. The academy covers technical skills as well as practical skills like relating to people.
“A lot of folks don’t really understand what it takes to succeed,” Vincent says. “Some folks are lucky and can do it almost intuitively. Other folks, you’ve almost got to say, ‘Here’s what it takes. Here are the things you have to do. Here are the things you’ve got to start thinking about now.’”
Any orientation should start with broad explanations of your firm’s core beliefs. At Dinsmore & Shohl, one of those overriding principles is client service. New employees are inundated with the repetition of how important it is.
“You have to have a handful of overriding principles that you enunciate over and over again so everybody understands, ‘OK, here’s what the vision, the philosophy, of the firm is. Let’s try and manage our work against those philosophies and against that vision,’” Vincent says.
As you continue to drive those principles in, you should also break them down into actionable examples for employees to practice. Define what each one actually means.
“You try and instill in folks, ‘It’s a service business. You’ve got to deliver the service to get the business,’” Vincent says. “What does that mean? You enunciate the principles: ‘Return a call the day you get it. Empathize. Understand the client.’”
Zoom in on those details, but you should always keep them within the context of the big picture.
“It’s keeping your focus on … the core beliefs of the firm and making sure that that continues to be enunciated,” Vincent says. “It’s easy to become diffused, but let’s come back to the core values and let’s maintain that focus.”
