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Continue with Chapter 1Back to overviewHe brings more expert knowledge than any person. All he needs to learn is what you’d teach any good new employee, too:
Your brand. Logo, colors, fonts, your brand book. Then everything he builds looks like you.
Your house rules. How you address customers, what tone you use, what you never do.
Your company. What you offer, prices, processes, contacts, templates.
Your customers. Who’s who, what was discussed last, what matters to each of them.
After that, you have an employee who knows almost everything and knows your company.
The more he knows, the less you have to explain. Every login makes him more independent. With your mailbox, he knows every customer’s history. With your files, he finds templates, old quotes, and price lists on his own. Then “Write Mr. Krause a reply” becomes a complete task.
The more you give him, the more he can do for you.
This may be the most important idea in this chapter. That’s why we’re saying it again here, loud and clear: give him everything you work with yourself.
Your folders and files. Contracts, customer folders, templates, price lists, references, presentations, and written material. Basically everything on your computer that matters for your daily work.
Your knowledge. How your processes work, who’s responsible for what, what’s coming up right now.
Your logins. For your mailbox, for websites and portals, for the programs you work with.
Why this makes such a difference: if he can access everything you can access, he can work just the way you do. Then he can stand in for you in almost any area. He does the groundwork and puts the finished result on your desk. That applies to your whole company just as much as to your department or your role. The more he learns about you and your work, the more he takes off your plate.
More access doesn’t mean less control. Anything that goes out the door, he still shows you as a draft first, just the way you set it up in Chapter 4. How to give him documents and logins is explained in First steps, under Steps 4 and 5.
“I’d like to onboard you like a new employee. Ask me, one question at a time, what you need to know about my company, my customers, and our house rules. And tell me which documents and logins you’re still missing.”
How much should I give him, and which logins?
As much as possible of what you work with every day yourself. Every folder and every login makes him more effective. If you’re unsure, ask him: “Tell me where you could help me most if you had access to it.”
Do I have to give him everything at once?
No. Start with what you explain most often. He’ll pick up the rest along the way, from your documents and your feedback.
How long does onboarding take?
Less time than for any human hire. Whatever is in your documents, he reads in minutes.
The better he knows your company, the more hands he can put to work for you.
Read everything? Then complete the chapter.
That unlocks Chapter 7, and your progress is saved.