How to Extend "Honeymoon with Employer"

Wie man die Verbindung zwischen Arbeitgeber und Arbeitnehmer stabil und langwierig gestaltet, damit die Beziehung nicht nach den "Flitterwochen" endet, und was der Bewerber sofort beachten sollte.

CleverControl befragte den Experten für Marketing, PR und Kommunikationsstrategie Larry Warren.

• Larry, was wäre ein schöner Beginn einer Beziehung zwischen dem Unternehmen und dem Arbeitnehmer?

• In practice of successful professionals quite interesting stories "conquest" happen quite often. Firstly, let’s define "the honeymoon period"? It is actually just like that pre-purchase buzz you might get. It is the moment when the interest in some employee or employer is so high that all your further actions are aimed at the realization of the desire "to get him/her/it". But, as in human relationships, in work it is very important to have the desire balanced. An emotional impulse purchase based on someone else's successful market experience sometimes has nothing to do with the goal of the employer. And the substitution of concepts most often leads to disappointment. First, the employer needs time to define what tasks he or she will set before the future employee, which of them to define as a priority, and what he or she is willing to sacrifice. Second, the applicant must also consider what he or she "sells", "earns", and for what price. All these questions are specific enough to require serious consideration and it's important to separate emotions in making such decisions.

• In welchen Fällen raten Sie dem Arbeitnehmer, misstrauisch zu sein? Was sollte die rote Flagge sein?

• For example, you get a call from an HR specialist and off the bat he or she starts to praise you and all of your projects. And this flattery is followed by the invitation for a meeting where everything is made just for you and even the boss meets you with a smile. The intention is clear: everyone is excited to meet you, you really have something to respect you for but where does all of this excessive "gallantry" come from. It creates suspicion. It all would be fine if it was not for this weird aftertaste of some kind of catch... And now, at home, in a comfortable chair, you start recalling rather strange inconsistencies in the manner of communication with you and the current employees, such as rudeness with the secretary or assistant, and that nasty feeling of insincerity. Or, let's imagine a completely opposite experience when the calling recruiter tells you how lucky you are to be addressed by such a company. Most often, such interview continues with a general feeling of an “exam” and questions like "Well? What do you know about us?" The feeling is often reinforced by phrases like: "Next time I want you to prepare a presentation for us." These seem to be two completely opposite examples but what do they have in common? In fact, in both cases, the company does not understand what it is looking for in a future candidate. Because "praise" or "belittling" is a transition to personal that deprives the dialogue between people of all productivity and causes completely unnecessary emotional reactions. What is dangerous about such a beginning of work relationship? The fact that your work simply will never meet the boss’s expectations because he or she doesn't know what is required.

• Welche Beispiele kennen Sie, bei denen der Kontrast zwischen den "Flitterwochen" und dem Arbeitsalltag deutlich wird?

• I just remembered a joke: Because of the serious problems the company was in the boss fired the marketing director. And he tells his successor that he have prepared three letters which the new marketing director needs to open before every meeting with the boss. After a year the company has zero results, the boss calls the new director in for a meeting. So he opens the 1st letter which says: "Blame everything on me." The successor refers to the terrible legacy he inherited from the previous employee, and he is forgiven. Another year passes. The picture is the same. Dynamics of company’s development is not improving. Another meeting is planned. The marketing director opens the 2nd letter which says: "Blame everything on the fact that the effect of modernization cannot be instantaneous and that it requires a cumulative effect and time." Again the director is forgiven. Another year later nothing has changed. The director opens the 3rd letter before the meeting and it says: "Prepare the 3 letters." This joke, as it often happens, is only 50% joke. Very often employers who don’t know what they want expect too much from an employee. The boss who doesn’t know how to set goals and tasks sees the employee as a beam of light that will bring business back from the darkness, but it is not always justified. And this kind of dissonance stops “the honeymoon” straight away.

• Was ist Ihrer Meinung nach der Hauptfehler der Arbeitgeber, dass die Arbeitnehmer in der Anfangsphase so glücklich und danach so fassungslos sind?

• Ich würde nicht die ganze Schuld auf den Arbeitgeber abwälzen. Die Auswahl des Mitarbeiters und des Arbeitgebers ist ein zweiseitiger Prozess. Der Vorgesetzte muss verstehen, was seine Aufgabe ist, nämlich den Weg zu planen, eine Route festzulegen und spezifische Ziele für die richtigen Leute zu setzen. Und, wie ich bereits sagte, sollten Sie sich nicht von Emotionen leiten lassen. Bei Vorstellungsgesprächen müssen Sie die Bedingungen aushandeln und die Ziele und Motive beider Parteien erkennen, um weitere Missverständnisse zu vermeiden. Und wenn der Bewerber eine gewisse Ungewissheit in Bezug auf seine künftige Position sieht, sollte er sich nicht scheuen, seine Befürchtungen gegenüber dem potenziellen Chef zu äußern. Scheuen Sie sich nicht, Fragen zu stellen.

• Was können Sie Managern empfehlen, um Fehler zu vermeiden?

• Der wichtigste Ratschlag für Manager ist, nicht zu vergessen, dass sie für den Prozess verantwortlich sind. Es ist sehr wichtig, zuzuhören und die Lehren aus den Fehlern zu ziehen, zu verstehen, dass es normal ist, wenn Fehler passieren, und zu wissen, wie man delegiert. Aber das Wichtigste ist, die Verantwortung für das Ergebnis zu übernehmen.