Sunday, November 06, 2005

Buzz with New Hires

The roll of HR in Buzz Marketing is greater than you would think. New hires, you hope, are energetic and excited about their new job. Many companies require new salesman to contact all their family, friends and ex coworkers in an effort to get early sales. This same emphasis can be put on all new hires if you make the goal a little buzz, instead of closing sales. Here are some ideas you can do with new hires to get them involved with creating some buzz in those first few months.
  • Letters to family and friends, letting them know what they are doing now and inviting them to stop by, if appropriate.
  • If they left their last job on good terms, put together a little after work party between some ex coworkers and new coworkers.
  • Do a press release on the new hire.
  • Get a mentor from outside the company to support them through this transition. (Think of this as an excuse to call some people and let them know you are growing, plus help the new employee expand their network.)
  • Have the new hire update all of their online profiles with new job info.
  • Contact their alumni association and let them know that you have just hired on of their graduates.
  • Help the new hire write a stunning email signature and send out announcements of their new job to all of their contacts.

New hires have a honeymoon period where they are excited about the job and will do most things asked. Start the emphasis on Buzz early and they will continue it as a part of their everyday job.