January 18, 2023
Itâs officially Girl Scout cookie season. Related: Itâs officially âthe end of any diet-related New Yearâs resolutionsâ season.
Hot off the SMB press this week:
But first, here are some headlines that caught our attention this week.
TL; DR
GOOOAAALLLS!
Weâre 18 days into the new year.
So⌠howâre your New Yearâs resolutions going?
If youâre on track and doing swell, then great! But if youâve already embraced defeat, no judgment â in fact, youâre not alone. Research shows that 80% of New Yearâs resolutions fail by the start of February, and only 8% of Americans actually stick to their resolutions all year long.
The reasons?
Lack of self-discipline, no time to actually commit to resolutions, and peer pressure top the list. But, weâd like to offer another answer to why people are so likely to fail in keeping their resolutions: Theyâre too vague.
The most common resolutions youâll hear are âexercising,â âeating healthy,â and âlosing weight.â But what do any of those resolutions really mean? How are you meant to achieve them? And how do you know when youâve actually accomplished them?
Letâs solve this problem.
As entrepreneurs and business leaders, weâre familiar with the goal-setting frameworks we use to envision success in our companies (SMART goals, OKRs, etc.). They help us come up with actionable steps we need to take to reach the goals weâve set for our businesses.
We need to use that same approach to the personal resolutions we set ourselves â and weâve got a guide to help you and your team do just that.
Step 1: Look back and reflect on last year.
Start by creating a list of all your accomplishments from last year â they can be big, small, life-changing, or mundane. Think about what you were most proud of accomplishing and where you took your biggest risks.
By doing this reflection, you get a chance to think about what you did last year that you can bring into this year â and what you are planning to do differently.
đ Find the full guide (plus, goal-setting secrets from Daymond John).
ALL ABOARD
You mean, throwing my new hires a Google Doc and calling it a day isnât good enough?
In the words of Mr. Randy Jackson: Thatâs a no from us, dawg.
Hiring top talent is only part of building a productive team. Once youâve got the right people in place, you still need to take them through your hiring and onboarding process to get them up to speed and positioned to succeed in their new role.
So, how do you know if your onboarding program is ready for that challenge? Well, weâve got a fully comprehensive guide for that, including checklists and best practices.
Okay, but why is employee onboarding so important?
First impressions matter â your new hires have opinions on your company from the moment they start. Onboarding is the moment when they either jump on board or decide theyâve made a mistake.
Every new hire costs your company roughly $3K and 100 hours for the onboarding process alone. And those numbers donât include the added hidden costs if your onboarding process fails to bring your new hire fully up to speed.
Plus, having a good onboarding plan helps your business retain employees. Nearly 20% of all turnover happens within the first 45 days of employment. And itâs usually due to an awful employee onboarding experience.
What happens before the onboarding process kicks off?
So, youâve just hired an exciting new candidate who can bring dedication and skill to your team. Now that theyâve accepted your offer, youâre ready to start onboarding!
But first, there are a few ways you need to prepare before onboarding officially starts. And you can start by ticking these boxes from your employee onboarding checklist.
1. New hire paperwork.
Before a sports team can put their new player in the game, the contracts need to be signed. Your new hire paperwork is your companyâs equivalent of those contracts. If youâre located in the U.S., these forms will probably include the following:
đ Check out the rest of the guide.
LOOK MA, WE MADE A PODCAST
Time is but a social construct. Except when youâre waiting in the school pickup line. Then it feels excruciatingly legit. Good thing youâve got Organize Chaos to keep you company and level up your business at the same time (take *that*, time).
Thatâs because throughout the week, founder and CEO of Trainual, Chris Ronzio, offers up free entrepreneurial and small business leadership advice on the podcast, covering everything from people to processes to productivity â and how to organize your life around it all. The best part? Each bite-sized episode is less than 10 minutes.
Check out some of our most recent episodes: