I have written often about seeking God’s wisdom before taking action. I am a strong believer in going first to God in getting our marching orders, regardless of the circumstances. However, I think there are some situations in which it makes no sense at all to ask God for guidance. In these cases, I believe we are on our own.
The following post is written by Bill Higgins. You may remember him from previous guest posts of his. Bill’s following post gives us great insight into how a Christian business should approach onboarding new employees. I think you should get some great ideas from his post!
All aboard! The conductor makes his last call and you hurry to your seat. You get oriented, pull out your ticket, locate the restrooms, and settle in for the ride. It doesn’t take long for you to get comfortable as the train pulls away from the station.
Oh, that onboarding new hires in your company was that easy. You have sounded the “All aboard!” in the form of a job offer, but it takes several other activities before new hires can settle in for the ride.
The scriptures will provide a backdrop and principles for planning your onboarding activities leading to employee integration and effectiveness. The following will present some guidance; whether you incorporate them through mentoring, an orientation class, e-learning, or a blending of several of these methods is up to you.
However, you decide to do it, here are the items you want to be sure are included in your onboarding activities:
Know the corporation:
Part of Proverbs 22:6 reads, “Train up a child in the way they should go…” it literally says according to their bent or their way, the way they are made. Parents need to understand how their children are made; so too new hires need to know how their new company is made.
Cover the mission, vision, values, and the history that brought the organization to this point. This will give new hires a context and framework in which they will be expected to operate.
Take a long view:
The second part of Proverbs 22:6 reads, “…and when they are old…” This encourages both parents and business people to take the long view. When it comes to onboarding, help newcomers begin to grasp this perspective. Show them some things that have been started, some changes or plans that have been initiated, but that will take a while to be completed, take effect, or see results
Help them see that some of their own activities may not be implemented right away either, but not to get discouraged by this, but to rather be encouraged that the company plans to be around long enough to make the changes.
Work the details:
Luke 16:10 provides another point to focus on. It says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Help new hires understand that the details of any job are critically important.
None is too small to be concerned about or to take notice of. Whatever the task, it’s important to get down in the weeds to see that each of the details is addressed.
Count the cost:
Luke 14:25-35 provides another factor for your onboarding when it says, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower…” and “Suppose a king is about to go to war…” What’s the next part, “…will he not first count the cost.”
It’s important for new hires to learn to look at downstream impacts of decisions, investments, changes. New hires need to begin to see how their job impacts other people, other processes, and other products related to what they do.
Too often individuals, teams, and work is viewed discretely. But no one works alone and without impacting others. Viewing the cost helps to get a more global view of the work and a holistic view of the corporate team.
Worry:
From Matthew 6:25ff we learn another principle that will serve new hires well (as well as old-timers too). It’s the principle of doing your best on whatever you’ve been assigned and then leave the results in God’s hands.
The passage starts out, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,…” This passage is not telling us to forget planning or thinking down the road, but it is telling us not to worry about our plans. Worry accomplishes nothing, but gray hair.
So think, plan, apply your abilities and let God take care of the rest. You can’t foresee every eventuality and control the results anyway so you might as well learn to leave them in God’s hands.
Stay Tuned! In the next post, Bill will finish with the final three segments of his recommended onboarding recommendations. I am sure you will want to continue learning from him!
About the Author:
BILL HIGGINS is currently the Managing Director of MindWare Incorporated, an independent training and career coaching consulting firm. He previously served on the pastoral staff of churches in the U.S. and Canada, and worked in a managerial capacity for industry leading organizations. Bill is a graduate of Biola University and Talbot Theological Seminary and his book; Your Road to Damascus: 6 Biblical Secrets for an Effective Job Search is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and MindWare Publishing websites.
This post is based on material from Dave Anderson’s book, How to Run Your Business by THE BOOK. It is the first post in a series of five in which we will address common character issues for leaders. Our first character issue is the little white lie.
“But it was just a little white lie, right?”
How many times have you heard (or thought) this? I know we have all told someone they looked good when, in fact, they may not have. Maybe you told someone you liked their haircut or their new pair of shoes. You get the idea. I am not here to argue that point. I want to know if this behavior is okay in your business. Is it okay to tell white lies as a Christian in business?
Let’s try another line with which you may be more familiar…
“Who is it?…Just tell them that I am not here.”
If you have an assistant or receptionist, I am sure you have said something like this before. If not, congratulations! If so, can you justify saying something like this when you know it is not true? If your people see or hear you saying things like this, what effect do you think it has on their opinion of you? What effect does it have on their own behavior? If it is left unchecked, what behavior does it eventually lead to?
The white lie is so common in our world that most people do not even realize they are telling one. It can take many forms. Some of these may seem harmless (or even helpful) at the time. Some of them are a little more dangerous, but they are justified as being safer than telling the truth (at least at that moment!). Regardless of the rationalization, I think we need to take a long, hard look at this topic.
So what are we to do as Christian business owners and leaders? What is the expectation of us?
Well, as you probably guessed, I think we need to turn to the Bible for our answer. If we look at Ephesians 4:25, we will see the following verse:
Therefore, putting away all lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
Obviously, I could point to many other verses that make it clear that we are not to lie, but to tell the truth. This is God’s expectation of us. It is not dependent upon circumstances or conditions. It does not apply only to some people, but to all who claim the name of Jesus.
In How To Run Your Business By The Book, Dave Anderson gives the following key advice:
I will leave you with this verse from Luke 16:10…
Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much.
I encourage you to start watching what you say. Increase your awareness of your words and make sure you are not falling into this trap.
Have you been guilty of little white lies?
Do you see the danger in where they lead?
What is your plan to change this behavior?