New hires, promotions create fresh perspectives

For new employees, a good first step is to learn the company’s culture and its employees, according to Kelli R. Fleck, human resources director for Brown Derby Stores Inc., and member of the Springfield Area Human Resource Association.

“Don’t come in and automatically want to make these big changes,” Fleck said. “Take the time to get to know the culture of the company. Get to know what the challenges are and get to know your stakeholders and what they would be comfortable with. Learn what your boundaries are … . You need to establish credibility first and be able to sit down and explain things.”

From the employer’s perspective, creating an environment of teamwork where all staff members are treated as valuable will make new hires feel welcome.

“It is a much more pleasant experience if everybody in the office gets along and works together,” she said. “To come into an environment or office that is pleasant is so much better for you than an environment that is hostile or just unfriendly.”

For Mike Bennitt, who recently left Great Southern Bank to serve as a client adviser investment specialist with Arvest Bank, that respect and appreciation is about the best thing an employer can provide for new employees.

“See your employees’ situation through their eyes instead of always seeing their situation through your eyes,” Bennitt said.

Fleck said how employees are treated by a new employer is often determined by how top management conducts itself with respect to new hires.

“Owners and managers have no idea, I don’t think, how much they can affect that,” Fleck said.

The phrase used at Arvest Bank, Bennitt said, is servant leadership, which he said comes from the top down, starting with owner Jim Walton, son of the late Sam Walton, who founded Wal-Mart.

Bennitt had a one-on-one with Jim Walton, Arvest Bank’s chairman and CEO, shortly after reporting to work.

“He came in with a notepad,” Bennitt said of the younger Walton. “He said, ‘Tell me how I personally can make your situation better.’ I thought that was amazing. Then his next questions were what could we do as a company to be better? Is there anything that you see that maybe we can improve on? Now here is a guy that doesn’t need my ideas to do well. Here is a guy who is truly listening to his employees.”

Walton’s approach shows that he’s aware of how fresh perspectives can benefit Arvest Bank. But new points of view don’t always have to come from new hires. Sometimes, they can result from putting a familiar face in a new position.

That’s the case at insurance firm Ollis & Co., where Matt Scheihing was promoted to chief operating officer two years after joining the company.

Scheihing said he sees the firm differently.

“Being able to offer some ideas that people hadn’t thought of in a while or being able to offer up some new ideas for the industry is a real advantage for the organization,” he said.

At the same time, the change in duties has gone smoothly, perhaps because he already was familiar with the company.

“It has been a time to step back and reevaluate where (we) are and what (the company’s) goals are,” Scheihing said.

Still, Scheihing has learned from making the switch to chief operating officer, and his advice for new hires echoes Fleck.

“To the team that you are coming in to work with and lead, you are an unknown quantity,” Scheihing said. “You are trying to build the relationships and trust with the existing team. They need to know you are here for the right reasons and you want to do what’s best for them and the company.”

Tips for Job Changers

Human resources expert Lynne Haggerman shares four steps that should be completed by anyone who's contemplating a job change here.[[In-content Ad]]