In the previous article we touched on the Second S Structure and proven strategies for successful alignment, effective onboarding and reducing the impacts of ‘premature evacuation’.
Today we are looking at the third S Style and how recruiters can assist employees and candidates early in the onboarding process to understand like Shared Values, the importance of Style and managing personal brands to ensure others gain an overwhelmingly positive impression.
Managing personal brands
By following some guidelines, you can assist employees and candidates understand how to best align style throughout the onboarding process. Style is, in effect, personal brand. In fact, the term ‘personal brand’ was coined by Tom Peters, the same McKinsey business consultant who devised the 7-S model. It was published in an article for Fast Company magazine back in 1997 and asserted that in the same way that companies such as Mercedes, VW, Apple, and Google are marketed as brands, people and their careers should be developed and presented as brands as well.
With the right style, it is easy to build a powerful and authentic personal brand. It must be based on on unique skills, knowledge, experience and values as well as ability to work with and serve others.
Mastering reputation management
Jeff Bezos of Amazon once said “your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.” For a newly transitioning employee, it is important that whatever people say about them, when they are not in the room during those first three months, is overwhelmingly positive.
My practical, proven strategies for successful alignment, effective onboarding and reducing the impacts of ‘premature evacuation’ is based on the famed McKinsey 7-S alignment framework.
In our next post we will be looking at some of the main points of the fourth S Skill and in future posts we will be looking at the remaining S’s, Strategy, Staff, Systems for effective onboarding and how recruiters can reduce impact of ‘premature evacuation’.
************
Greg Weiss is Australia’s leading career coach. He is the author of “So You Got the Job! WTF Is Next?”. The book prescribes a proven, practical 7-step guideline for new employees, so they succeed, rather than fail their probation periods and beyond. Find out more about the book at https://www.wtfisnext.wtf
He is the Founder and Director of Onboff an online training and coaching platform that helps HR specialists, coaches and recruiters to deliver exceptional onboarding and offboarding experiences for employees.
He also hosts The Keep: The Employee Experience podcast and runs CareerSupport365.
