new new employee training 102407

New Employee HandbookYour Guide to Survival in the Workplace

Valid any time, anywhere

Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net

THE GOOD NEWS

- 3 -Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net

You got your first job!

THEBAD

NEWS


You got your first job!

What We’re Doing Here


Covering a dozen areas or topics to keep in mind

How to work at Return Path, but probably elsewhere too

How we answered that question from our younger brothers “what’s your best advice on how I should act at work?”


1. Attendance

Learn what your group’s dynamics are around work hours and be ahead of the curve

– Generally, try to be one of the first couple people at work in the morning– Know when to stay late and when to go early

• It’s ok to have all your work done and leave• It’s also ok to ask others on your team if they need help so they can go early• We place a premium on having an outside life, so plan activities – just let your manager know

– If everyone in your group checks email at night and on weekends, you probably should, too – but our objective isn’t to regularly work weekends

Coming in “late” is ok– Very infrequently– If you’ve worked really late the night before– If you email your manager/colleagues beforehand to give them a heads up

Days off– Take them!– Don’t be the kind of person who is constantly begging to roll over your vacation to next year– Give ample notice (request)

Never, ever, ever, ever get to the point where your manager has to talk to you about attendance or tardiness


2. Dress

Dress well

Flair (your style) is ok if “in bounds”

Don’t push the envelope of our dress code– The term “business casual” does have the word “business” in it– Wear jeans, shorts, t-shirts, sandals, tennis shoes very sparingly– Is it evident that you went out clubbing last night?– Are you ready to meet with a client today?

Dress up or down accordingly– If everyone is wearing jeans, wear the nicest, most stylish (ok, but don’t iron them)– If you are in a client-facing role, it might be a good idea to keep a spare set of dress clothes in the office for emergency meetings

Keep other elements of appearance in check– Follow basic hygiene– Keep your facial hair neat– Don’t show too much skin– Don’t flaunt piercings and tattoos

Never, ever, ever, ever get to the point where your manager has to talk to you about your appearance


3. In-office behavior

Learn to recognize people’s work styles around interruptions– Open door generally means “come on in”– Closed door or heads-down means knock first and don’t expect an immediate answer

Booze is a no-no during work hours, either at work or out at lunch

Gifts run downhill, not uphill

Be really careful about getting romantically involved with someone at work

– Easy to backfire– It’s ok to request a new position if it’s too close for comfort

Build good lateral business relationships with– Peers who can be helpful– Peers who can’t be helpful today– The department head of the department you work most closely with

Recognize that you’re the newbie– Ask questions, make friends and be yourself– Respect the fact that the people you are working with have established relationships


3. In-office behavior, continued

Going around the boss is ok– To learn from others– To air a legitimate grievance if you’re uncomfortable doing so to your boss, or if other avenues

are exhausted

It’s ok to work on personal items at the office– We live in a 24x7 world– Get your work done– Don’t distract others– Don’t plan your entire wedding at work– Watch expenses (too many long-distance calls)– Work items are always the priority

Be kind to others– Hold the door open– Get the next person in line a cup of coffee– Offer your opinion quietly when you think it’s appropriate– Smile a lot and be friendly!– Use lunch hours to get together with newbies, co-workers, or people you don’t know that well

Answer the phone like a pro– “What up, dog?” isn’t great, even if you recognize CallerID


4. Out-of-office behavior

You are always an ambassador of Return Path to the rest of the world

– You never know who is where (elevators, airplanes)– What you do reflects on you– What you say about work reflects on us

Drinking with colleagues– Ok to a point– Always eat while drinking– Be careful not to lose control– With a client (at a trade show), have one club soda or Coke for every beer

Partying on a school night– You’re young! Go crazy!– Show up for work on time, ready to go, in fresh clothes, showered and not smelling of bar

Hiking and biking– You’re young! Go crazy!– Show up for work on time, ready to go, in fresh clothes, showered and not smelling of…well…you

Emailing when drunk is an incredibly bad, bad, bad, bad idea. It’s such a bad idea that it’s not even an idea


5. Organization

Priorities, tasks, projects, dependencies, goals, and ideas streamlined in one or two places (Outlook, Excel)

Regularly review and update your priorities and deadlines

Meet all commitments…– …or renegotiate them if you must, but– never leave a colleague hanging

The one-minute model: Do it, Delegate it, Defer it or Delete it. Strive for a clean Inbox at the end of every day

Take Jack and Matt’s class in Getting Things Done, with the goals of setting up a personal operating system that helps in:

– Minimizing stress– Becoming more productive and efficient– Delivering your commitments on time– Improving the quality of your work


6. Communication

In all cases– Organize your thoughts ahead of time– The main thing is to make the main thing the main thing– Be succinct – don’t ramble or write too long

Written– Email counts as written communication. IM can count as written communication. Don’t be too cute

• Not too many acronyms• Capitalize words that are supposed to be capitalized• Punctuate in places that require punctuation

– Never, ever, ever send anything out with a spelling error or grammar error – internally or externally– When you send an attachment, send a clear, succinct summary of key points in the cover email– Always note action items or response required very clearly – When forwarding a long email thread, make sure to include a quick summary for the reader– Personal thank you notes (email or even better, handwritten) mean a lot

Verbal– Organize your thoughts before speaking

Meetings– Show up on time, even if the meeting is chronically late– Balance inquiry with advocacy – ask a lot questions!– Active listening, acknowledge key points with a nod– Learn the meaning of Playback– Note-taking is great, but avoid laptops and cell phones during meetings

Pick the right mode of communication– When the email is longer than a small page, pick up the phone or go see the person– Sometimes, email is good to give people time to think without being on the spot– Memos are ok, if a bit dated– Think about who your audience is and what you’re trying to convey to them or sell them on – Excel vs. Powerpoint vs. Word vs. Email vs. IM vs.

phone vs. Pop-in vs. Scheduled Meeting


6a. Meeting with your manager

Goals

Dev plans

Delegated items

Issues and solutions

Roadblocks

Brainstorming about the future

In office vs. out of office


7. Execution

One of the clearest measures of your productiveness and effectiveness is how you deliver on your commitments

– Other people rely on them– Meeting them builds credibility – They should always be renegotiated if you think they will be missed– Don’t over-commit!!

Underpromise and overdeliver– Build in contingency percentage for project commitments– Early, under budget, and better/smarter than expected– Anticipate next step and start working on it

Never let ‘em see you sweat

Learn how to say “no”

Strive to understand the company mission– How your department fits into it– How your job fits into it


8. Meeting the client

Show up on time, preferably 5 minutes early– Travel shouldn’t be an excuse – “you leave late, you get there late”

Look your best! Not the right day for jeans and untucked shirts

Turn off your cell phone and laptop before the meeting starts

All external meetings are learning opportunities for you and for others at the company who aren’t there

– Ask great questions– Take great notes (on paper)– Plan to write trip notes via email for all relevant parties internally

Assume all follow-up items are yours to lead or coordinate

Write a thank you email or handwritten note afterwards

Coordinate internal and external follow-up with other meeting attendees


9. Traveling

Be frugal! You’re an owner!– Minimize internal-only travel– Wear cost savings as a badge of honor (Ken has an “Oyster card”)

Learn the policies and stick with them (or get prior approval to deviate)

If traveling with your manager, ask him/her ahead of time how to travel, coordinate flights, hotels, and cars when possible

Be a road warrior– There is no such thing as a “travel day”– Pack as many meetings into a trip as possible, including dinners– You don’t have to take red-eyes if you can’t or don’t want to, but learn to love the

pink-eyes

When in doubt, ask


10. Attitude

Enjoy what you are doing– 40% of your life is spent working; > 60% of your waking life– No extra points for bitching at the water cooler– Make your work play to you

Smile and the world smiles with you, frown – you frown alone– Optimism counts for a lot!

Balance– making work good…

• taking pride in what you do, enjoying the challenge, looking forward to each day with optimism and enthusiasm

– …with having a good time at work

• chatting with pals, playing the occasional office prank

No dead fish! A firm handshake inspires confidence

Live the awards: give them often, get them often– ABCD means Above and Beyond the Call of Duty– Double-E means Everyday Excellence– WOOT means Working Out Of Title– Blue Light Special means Saving the Company Money– Crowbar means Helping to Pry Open a New Account

Put things in perspective– Learn how to try on the other person’s shoes– Don’t let a bad day or week impact your life disproportionately


11. Learning

You get points for asking good questions, not for pretending you know everything

Think first, write questions down

Don’t be afraid to ask for help, but

Be resourceful and conscious of people’s time– The Intranet and the Internet are your friends

Make mistakes! (Yes, really)– It’s ok to make mistakes. You will. We all do– Try to correct them as soon as possible– The worst mistake you can make it not learning from a mistake and repeating it

Seek out 1:1 time with– your manager– your department head– senior management

Read, read, read– Books– Trade publications, blogs– Company financials, investor reports, operating summaries


12. Getting promoted

Never stand still – finish your work early so you can– Ask for more– Think about two nagging problems with your workflow or your department and jot down suggestions for how to improve them, for your

next meeting with your manager– Think strategically about how your division can move forward

The picture– See the big picture– See the entire picture– Picture the picture– Direct the picture– Produce the picture– Stop being an extra

Live the RP values– As an individual contributor– Understand, then start living, the manager values

Read business books– Ask your manager– Ask senior management – Visit Matt’s blog or his office


Bonus section


First Boss Relations

So, you have a boss now…

Intimidated? It’s normal…. – We all want to impress our bosses. But you can’t

let the pressure of that keep you from been confident in your opinions, thoughts and work.

Think of your boss as your best asset in the office…– the person you can learn the most from,

– the person that will guide you to success,

– the person that will probably give you the most honest feedback about your quality and style of work


The top 10 secrets to developing a great relationship with your first boss

1. Work with your boss rather than for your boss

2. Challenge your boss

3. Be proactive

4. Take ownership

5. Show passion

6. Take their advice

7. Speak up

8. Show your personality in a professional way

9. Have an eye on becoming a boss yourself

10. Develop a relationship based on constructive criticism


Tackling Your First Big Assignment

Always make sure directions and expectations are clear. Ask questions!

Explain your thought process. Make sure you are on the same page as your boss

Ask for help on how to prioritize

Figure out the impact of what you are doing (get the big picture) it will help you think critically as to why you are working on it

Express your plans for your future career and your interests so your boss can use that information when planning your assignments


Our Top 10 Good Habits to Keep Top of Mind

1. Watch those around you and adopt best practices, not everything

2. Common sense and good judgment count for a lot3. Never let attendance or appearance be an issue4. No booze during the workday or in the office; moderate drinking

when out with colleagues or clients after work5. Build your network at all levels in the organization – you can be

interested and learn without being a suck-up6. Attitude and optimism count for a lot7. Get your Inbox to Zero (or close) every evening8. Absorb like a sponge – read, learn, meet, ask9. You will get promoted if you (a) know what’s next, (b) start doing

it, and (c) keep being brilliant at your current job10. If you’re ever unsure of what to do or who to go to for

something, anyone in HR or anyone on Senior Staff is always willing to help!


GO FORTH AND CONQUER!

new new employee training 102407

Technology