The first few moments with a new employee are the some of the most important time you have with them.

They are excited to start and eager to learn. It’s in the first few minutes of the first day where they are most receptive to what you have to say. So, the question is how do you use that time?

Last week I had a new employee start. She has a master’s degree in computer engineering and will be using data to help us solve business problems. She is humble and kind. She is quick to say thank you for even small kind acts. She is excited to be working for us and we are so incredibly lucky to have her.

On the first day she walked in to our building. Before even going to the office we met in a community room. I asked her about her weekend and commute. Then I said that I was about to share with her the most important information about our company. I said the following points are so important to every decision we make here. And if there was only one thing she learned from me this was what she should remember. Here is what I said:

At Norhart, our purpose, the reason why we exist, is to create a better way for people to live. It’s that simple. If the actions we take are not creating a better way for people to live then we are off track. Our mission, or what we do, is to build and manage quality apartments. That means we don’t do hotels, we don’t do single family houses, we don’t do commercial. The reason is because we want to be the best at one thing: apartments.

I then dug deeper into the values our company holds. I shared stories that further illustrated our purpose, mission, and values. I asked her questions to deeper her understanding.

It takes a long time to align people to your purpose, mission, and values. So don’t miss one of the greatest opportunities to make an impact. Share these principles on the first day of hiring someone new. Share it with passion and energy. Help others become passionate about what the company is trying to do. This will go a long way to aligning people to achieve something great.

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