Parnell briefed CEO John Chambers and got clearance to create Fast Start, a collection of employee-orientation initiatives. Today, computer software tracks the hiring process and alerts facilities teams just before a new recruit arrives. But Fast Start doesn't just eliminate headaches. It opens people's eyes to life inside the company. Two weeks after new hires start, their managers receive an automatically generated email reminding them to review departmental initiatives and personal goals.
Some companies turn orientation into a self-managed project.
MEMC Electronic Materials in St. Peters, Missouri, the world's second-largest producer of silicon wafers, has been hiring as fast as it can over the last few years. It's been hard for MEMC to find great people. But it's been even harder to get them working effectively in one of the world's most technically demanding industries. But as the company kept growing, it was not unusual to find coaches with a month of experience managing operators with less than a year of experience. So he began assigning The Paper.