The Microbrewery Handbook

Chapter 17How to Have Happy Employees: Keep Them Engaged

WHEN YOU HAVE the leadership piece firmly in place as well as sound hiring processes, it's time to invest in the most important, valuable, expensive, and more unpredictable asset you have. People. Here are some tactical measures we have put in place to engage our Perfect Plain staff.

1. Onboarding, 30‐Day, and 90‐Day Conversations with All New Staff

More than a quarter of the American workforce leaves their respective jobs within the first 90 days of employment.

Think about your first day on the job. It's great! Everyone is nice! It's that honeymoon effect. You don't know what you don't know yet. Soon after, things change. You start to realize how much you don't know about your job. You may feel like you lack the skills to keep up. Quint Studer calls this “unconsciously incompetent” (as compared to “consciously competent”), or perhaps better known to us all as the “Oh shit!” moment.

This is why onboarding is important.

So often we hire someone new, then move them right into action with little concern about how they're doing. It makes all the difference if you have a strong onboarding plan that includes training – both on your culture and the job – and pairing up your new hire with a high‐performing mentor or buddy to teach them the ropes.

One cool program with mentors works this way: A mentor gets $500 for the successful onboarding of an employee: $200 after the training is complete, and $300 more 365 days after the ...