What are the unwritten rules of working in your company’s culture?

11.04.2019

Every company has them. They’re the rules that no one really talks about, but are keys to surviving in the company’s jungle. Do you know what “rules” there are in your company that everyone seems to know, but you wouldn’t find them in the company handbook, in a mission statement, or in a memo? As a manager who hires new staff, or an owner of a company, how do you determine when to disclose some of the unwritten rules, and what do you do for a new hire to help them navigate them?

Things to think about

Are they a recent college grad and haven’t had to figure out how to acclimate to a professional environment? Or are they switching professions, and this new environment will make them feel like a fish out of water? Either way, as their new boss, knowing their background and lack of experience navigating your workplace or a workplace that’s really different from their previous experience should prompt you to take on the role of being a little bit of a translator, tour guide, and cruise director.

Meaning, there are likely language differences that your new hire will be exposed to like acronyms, company jargon, and industry terms that might seem like the “norm” to you, but to a new hire, it’s all sounds foreign. So if you can translate or familiarize your new hire with some of the common terms, it will make their assimilation easier; at least they’ll understand some of the language.

Your role as tour guide

Your role as a tour guide goes beyond pointing out the closest restroom to their cubicle or office. It should include tidbits about how everyone goes out to lunch on Fridays, and no one uses the fridge on the third floor due to the flood of ‘98; all of the things that only the veteran workers know, and likely forget to even mention to the “newbies.” You might not realize it, but the average employee acquires a lot of “institutional knowledge” after being in a role for just one year. Institutional knowledge, according to the The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, can be broken down into two areas:

  • Explicit or tangible knowledge, including documents, records, and reports that can be stored and passed between people.
  • Implicit or intangible knowledge, including personal stories, skills, and intuition-based learnings that are more difficult to communicate. This type of knowledge can often be transferred through trainings and mentorships.

This knowledge, while critical to actually making the business run efficiently, can also contribute to culture creation and the “unwritten rules” that are integral to learn in order to feel like you’re acclimating as a new hire.

And a lifeline…

Another often overlooked way to help a new hire navigate their new workplace is to offer a lifeline when they feel lost. Make sure you offer to help out your new hire when they’re feeling lost or overwhelmed, or just aren’t sure if they should go to a happy hour they were invited to by the boss of another department. The seemingly small things that you just “know” as a seasoned veteran can cause the average new hire to lose sleep. If you say something like, “I hope you’ll get a lot of offers from helpful new colleagues this week. But I mean it, if you need anything, just ask, I’m here to help you with anything big or small.”  The more genuine you seem in your offer of assistance, the more likely the new hire will be to take you up on it. The more supported your new hire feels, the higher your onboarding process is likely to be rated.

Great onboarding is the key

So what is your role as a “cruise director?” Are there people in the organization that your new hire should know? Offer to set up lunch between these people and your new hire. Or better yet, tag along for one or two of the lunch dates. Also, give a rundown of the local lunch spots or watering holes that your new hire is likely to encounter new colleagues. Explain why eating at your desk is frowned upon or a culture staple, and whether or not many employees spend time with each other outside of work. These kinds of details usually take time to get clued in on, and if you can help your new hire get “in the know” before their ninety day mark, they’re more likely to make it well past their “new employee initiation” period.

According to shrm.org, 69 percent of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experienced great onboarding. As a manager or owner, your willingness to be a tour guide, cruise director and interpreter are a huge part of helping your new hire make it past the six month mark. In the same article shrm.org reported that nearly one-third of all new hires quit their jobs within the first six months. We would argue that all these new hires did not have a cruise director, interpreter, or tour guide.