How to Learn Your Company’s Best Practices
Hitting the ground running in your new role
Company best practices should be an amalgamation of lessons learned through the years that fit together to optimally serve the company’s mission, as well as its employees and the customers they serve. Company best practices should be a valuable resource for your individual performance, but ultimately, will create a cohesive and efficient working environment.
The quicker you’re able to adapt to the little nuances that set your company apart from the competition, the faster you’ll gain the trust of your superiors and peers. This helps you truly feel like a member of the team, even when you’re new.
If your onboarding didn’t include access to your company’s best practices and standard operating procedures or your company has yet to develop this documentation, here’s what you can do to get up to speed:
Learn your company’s history
Typically companies will provide an overview of their history, current culture, and operations during the recruiting process. It’s incredibly valuable during your candidacy to thoroughly review the job posting, glassdoor, and the company website to establish your fit within the organization.
Consider the direction the company has taken since its inception. Have they changed ownership? Is it a family-owned organization? Have they prioritized giving back? Has the company gone through one or more rebrands? Every change can be an indication as to where the company is headed next and how they’ll go about achieving their goals.
Ask questions early and often
Onboarding should be a unique experience for every new employee. If your company has a lax or one-size-fits-all onboarding process, you can impress them by taking the initiative in your acclimation period. Ask about anything you’re uncertain of so that you’re ready to perform at a high level when your full set of responsibilities is on your plate.
Consider what you’ll need to succeed in this role? Make sure you have access to the appropriate tools, platforms, systems, and resources so that you can meet and exceed your company’s expectations.
Develop relationships with coworkers in multiple departments
Different divisions of the organization may feed into the company’s mission uniquely, so overall best practices can, and in many ways should, vary for each department. Learn the intricacies of how each team interacts to avoid communication issues that can bottleneck your output.
This is also a great opportunity to identify and connect with veterans in the company. Your team could be relatively new or have a very specific function within the organization. Seasoned team members will have insight into both broad and minute details of the company’s operations that can elevate your understanding of its best practices.
Practice managing up
Managing up is a concept that encourages workers and managers to take the guesswork out of collaboration. Managing up requires an understanding of the manager’s expectations, pain points, and needs. This allows you to confidently conduct your work knowing it’s going to meet the standards of your boss, and/or their supervisor(s).
Developing a strong rapport with your boss that’s based on mutual respect and understanding should closely align your work to your company’s best practices.
Ultimately, your company wants you to succeed, so figuring out how the “sauce” is made should just be a matter of finding the right people to ask and the right way to approach them. Your sales savvy should come in handy when making these new connections.