Exposure can make a difference in attitudes and ultimately performance. According to Fast Company, that’s the finding of Adam Grant, a The Wharton School professor who studied the onboarding training given to 71 new call center employees of a midwestern software firm.
According to the study, one group of trainees was chosen to meet an ‘internal customer’—an employee of another department whose salary depends on the sales that the new hires make—during their initial training. In combination with some inspirational words from the CEO, this contact with a real live beneficiary significantly improved both sales and revenue during the employees’ first 7 weeks.
The difference?
A not-insignificant 20% improvement in revenue per shift. Leadership messages from the CEO about purpose, vision, mission, and meaning, however, had no such effect on their own.
Can you create additional opportunities for exposure? In honor of Veterans Day, a great example of this comes from USAA.
USAA figuratively runs a Boot Camp as part of their onboarding. The insurance provider for military members and their families has an interesting process for all new employees. Training includes trying on military fatigues, eating MREs, and reading letters from military family members.