In this book, the authors Didier Durandy and Hugues de Poncins give us a maximum of advice on how to deal with the managerial and legal challenges faced by newcomers.
Here are some points to remember about the front end, taken from the book:
Assessing an employer's level of transparency
Whether strategic or unconscious, unspoken words are common during the recruitment phase and can be detrimental to a good start in the job, or even have irreversible consequences. Whether it is a question of voluntary opacity on the part of your interviewer, lack of habit or limited knowledge of recruitment techniques, you must detect all the signs that point to the risk of disillusionment and failure for you and the employer once you have taken up your post. Your vital objective is to clarify the environment of your future position during your interviews.
Clarity, frankness, ease: how does he/she present the position?
Does the recruiter answer questions, even embarrassing ones? Does he or she treat them coldly or take the risk of letting you get the answers yourself later? Are they clear about the reality of the need? If you find yourself in any of these situations, you are most likely dealing with a non-transparent interviewer. Here are some questions to ask yourself to read between the lines and fill in the gaps in this exchange.
Is he or she selling a job that really exists, as opposed to a function that has no real reason to exist since it is already being performed in part by other employees?
Detecting the potential "manipulator" in the supervisor
Do not underestimate the importance of the personality of your future n+1 in the quality of your relationship with him/her and in the ease of communicating your needs to carry out the missions he/she will entrust to you. True dangers for the physical or moral integrity of their colleagues, associates or spouses, manipulators are narcissistic personalities who represent 2 to 3% of the population according to Isabelle Nazare-Aga, author of Manipulators are among us (Editions de l'Homme, 1997):
"If you have the feeling that you are no longer free, if you constantly talk about a person when he or she is not there, and if in his or her presence, you are not serene, or you behave like a little boy or girl and no longer like an adult, you are probably dealing with a manipulator. The same goes for those people from whom it takes you five days to recover from a simple call from them."
The reason they exist, she says: "to make themselves valuable by crushing us to feel superior. They are like viruses. They distill the evil to several victims at the same time their spouse, their children, the baker... You are only a pawn on which they rely to make themselves feel better".
They have several faces: they can be extroverted, good-natured, seductive, cultured, altruistic, or more shy but also authoritarian and tyrannical... and go from one facet to the other in a few seconds!
Understanding the forces at work: collective agreement, social climate...
Collective agreement and applicable collective agreements
This is information that you can obtain from your first contacts with the recruiter. The collective agreement is a pact that essentially covers such important subjects as working and employment conditions (the length of the trial period, working hours, paid vacations, level of remuneration, notice period in the event of termination of the employment contract, etc.) and social guarantees.
As an employee, you must be informed of and have access to the collective agreements and/or agreements governing working conditions. In most cases, the employer is required to apply, voluntarily or not, a collective agreement of the branch.
Is the hiring entity subject to a collective agreement? Is it subject to other collective agreements?
Your arrival - the keys to success
Why is the first day so important? You will often be told:
"Because everything happens on the first day, after that it's too late". It is true that it takes a lot of time and energy to change your opinion of someone, especially to change a negative impression. A successful first day should give you the feeling that you are joining a real family of professionals, whether it is a new structure or a new position in your current structure.
As far as your role is concerned, it is up to you to establish it clearly on the first day by using sentences of ten seconds maximum, even if it means repeating them: "I was recruited for, I was chosen for, I was asked to come for... in order to...".
Take care of the final preparations
Beware of messages that may be sent to you just before your induction, which happens frequently. You are then caught off guard and told that "we will see all the administrative aspects such as your title, your salary, your job description, your employment contract later.
No problem: it's just that today we don't have the time...". Be vigilant before you take up your position. Afterwards, it will be too late to contractualize the benefits that have not been formalized (in contractual matters, words fly and writings remain). Ideally, before your arrival or at the latest the same morning, you should be asked to sign the employment contract, which confirms the conditions of the trial period, the obtaining of a possible bonus, commissions in the case of a commercial activity, bonuses for results or possible activities, etc. You will also be given a detailed job description.
Taking up the position
contractualize benefits that have not been formalized (in contractual matters, words fly and writing remains).
Ideally, before your arrival or at the latest in the morning, you should be asked to sign the employment contract, which confirms the conditions of the trial period, possible bonuses, commissions in the case of a commercial activity, possible bonuses for results or activity, etc. You will also be given your detailed job description.
Making a success of your entry: the first day's test
Ask if someone from your hierarchy will be present to welcome you and introduce you on your first day. Ideally, you should not be left alone or wandering around for a single minute on your first day, as this is the right time to answer your questions and guide you through your first steps. It is usually a good idea to have a welcome party at the beginning of the day or a cocktail party at the end of the day, regardless of your hierarchical position.
Good to know
When you join an organization to take on a position of responsibility (manager for example), the presence of a member of the general management or your president will give you the credibility and authority you need. Otherwise, it is better to postpone your arrival in the company by a few days.
Time management: the five criteria of coordinated time management
Waste, control, gain... whether in the private or professional sphere, time is a very important aspect because it is supposed to be visible in everyone's way of working. Without serious consideration for time, it becomes simply impossible to organize tasks and priorities, to plan projects, and even to feel productive. The preliminary question is: how do you manage your time and the time of others in normal situations?
We identify five main levers that need to be activated wisely, which not only everyone instinctively relies on, but also on which all operators are dependent on each other.
Failure to align on these five levers within a team could have dramatic consequences for the company (missed delivery deadlines, failure to meet reimbursement commitments, missing the renewal deadline for a trial period, etc.).
Accuracy
First of all, it is important to analyze the more or less "rigorous" relationship you have with time. Indeed, whether it is in a work space or in the private circle, the notion of an agreed time does not have the same importance from one person to another.
How accurate are you? Do you miss trains, planes, arrive at meetings on time? Do you meet deadlines and, more specifically, do you generally accept them? Do you impose deadlines on yourself by enforcing them or by meeting them yourself? Is accuracy used internally as a management weapon?
The tempo
Is the tempo of communication (i.e., the degree of speed) similar to that which you experienced in your previous position? What happens if you were used to a high level of responsiveness and you come into an organization where it is not possible to let a manager move faster than his colleagues? or the opposite?
The only way for you to avoid a clash in the short term is to insist on the issues related to the tempo during the first weeks or even during the first months of an action, in order to adjust mutually to the tempo necessary for the good functioning of your activity, and even to the respect of the deadlines (cf. the new deadlines to obtain a new passport have been extended in France from one to several months).
The rhythm
The rhythm can be fixed regardless of the urgency of the subject matter ("it is urgent to wait" or on the contrary "I need this for yesterday"). On the other hand, the rhythm can be a function of each situation, depending on the mood, the personality or the degree of pressure exerted on the person "in charge" of the file. It can therefore sometimes be difficult to detect the operating mode of a superior. Nevertheless, in order to avoid being dragged into impossible tasks or missions under the pretext of satisfying the hierarchy at the time, it is advisable to show determination and, if the urgency is not justifiable, to know how to say no in a non-aggressive way, i.e. to show assertiveness.
Unite, discern, decide, adapt
The leader: a communicator, close to his team while being both admired and respected, with a vision (although this is the prerogative of the number one in an organization, because technically one cannot have a vision that is more advanced than that of one's hierarchy, nor than that of one's board of directors), capable of motivating, training and getting one's team to adhere to one's projects, whether fast or slow, depending on the circumstances He must be able to show authority without being authoritarian, although this depends on both the circumstances and the mentality of his team. Finally, he must know which files to concentrate on by showing discernment, particularly in the management of his time, so as not to disperse himself on minor files (or conversely to distance himself from the daily concerns of his staff).
Good to know
In fact, we have realized through experience that the most convincing and effective way to be recognized and accepted as a leader is to be able to manage decisions (manage them, not just make them). To this end, the decision management methodology presented above should enable you to strengthen your leadership in all circumstances, both with your new collaborators and with your entire team.
Indeed, it is through the management of decisions that one can weld a team, obtain the support of one's hierarchy, one's comex or one's board of directors. Because, as we have just said, a decision is necessarily strategic because it concerns the future. In this respect, it requires the support of a team if, and only if, the team's skills are used wisely, i.e. adapted to each stage concerned.
It is obvious that the ideal for a leader is to focus energies on the subject at hand, but this is more a result than an objective. What counts is the result of his decisions, which are not always supported by all the people involved. On the other hand, if the issue being dealt with is successful, then everyone will "fly to the victory".
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