Tuesday, November 19, 2013

The 45-Minute Onboarding Rule

After walking through the doors on their first day, Facebook employees are productive within 45 minutes, according to Tim Campos, Facebook’s chief information officer.


Campos, a graduate of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, spoke about some of his personal business philosophies Friday at an event organized by his alma mater. Haas’ Play Conference 2013 drew a crowd of about 600 attendees, mostly business students.


Campos suggested that an inability to enable employees to become productive in that time is indicative of a failure on the part of a department. With a hiring rate of anywhere from 50 to 250 new people per week, he said it is imperative that Facebook, as an organization carries out an incredibly efficient onboarding process.


So how does he accomplish this 45-minute rule?


First, a bit of planning. Campos said you need to get all systems and devices — from an employee’s PC to their phone — calibrated before new hires even report for their first day. Second: rather than focusing on abstract talks about what this new employee can do, you should get the new employee well-versed in the practical aspects of the job, including how to set up a meeting and where the printer is.


“And then you’re off on your way,” Campos said. “If we’re successful, then you know exactly where to go to get things done.”


Campos also revealed some interesting recruiting practices.


Campos said that Facebook has a record of every single interview that’s taken place at the company. Analysts correlate this date with performance reviews that employees receive every six months, and this helps Facebook identify signals during interviews that can be used to indicate whether or not someone will be a strong hire.


“For example we look at our sales organization,” Campos said. “We found that the most effective sales people have some type of entrepreneurial experience in their background. [That] highly correlates with high performance within the company.”


via The 45-Minute Onboarding Rule | Inc.com.


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The 45-Minute Onboarding Rule