1. New Employee Handbook
Valid any time, anywhere
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
Y our Guide to
Survival in the
Workplace

2. THE
GOOD
NEWS

3. You got your first job!
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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4. THE
BAD
NEWS

5. You got your first job!
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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6. What We’re
Doing Here

7. 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?”
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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8. 1. Attendance
Learn what your group’s dynamics are around work hours
and be ahead of the curve
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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
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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
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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
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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
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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9. 2. Dress
Dress well
Flair (your style) is ok if “in bounds”
Don’t push the envelope of our dress code
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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
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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
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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
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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10. 3. In-office behavior
Learn to recognize people’s work styles around interruptions
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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
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Easy to backfire
It’s ok to request a new position if it’s too close for comfort
Build good lateral business relationships with
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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
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Ask questions, make friends and be yourself
Respect the fact that the people you are working with have established relationships
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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11. 3. In-office behavior, continued
Going around the boss is ok
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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
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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
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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
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“What up, dog?” isn’t great, even if you recognize CallerID
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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12. 4. Out-of-office behavior
You are always an ambassador of Return Path to the rest of
the world
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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
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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
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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
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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
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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13. 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:
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Minimizing stress
Becoming more productive and efficient
Delivering your commitments on time
Improving the quality of your work
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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14. 6. Communication
In all cases
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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
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Email counts as written communication. IM can count as written communication. Don’t be too cute
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Not too many acronyms
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Capitalize words that are supposed to be capitalized
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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
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Organize your thoughts before speaking
Meetings
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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
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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
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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15. 6a. Meeting with your manager
Goals
Dev plans
Delegated items
Issues and solutions
Roadblocks
Brainstorming about the future
In office vs. out of office
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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16. 7. Execution
One of the clearest measures of your productiveness and
effectiveness is how you deliver on your commitments
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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
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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
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How your department fits into it
How your job fits into it
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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17. 8. Meeting the client
Show up on time, preferably 5 minutes early
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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
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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
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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18. 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
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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19. 10. Attitude
Enjoy what you are doing
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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
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Optimism counts for a lot!
Balance
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making work good…
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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
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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
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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
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Learn how to try on the other person’s shoes
Don’t let a bad day or week impact your life disproportionately
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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20. 11. Learning
Y ou 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
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The Intranet and the Internet are your friends
Make mistakes! (Y es, really)
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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
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your manager
your department head
senior management
Read, read, read
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Books
Trade publications, blogs
Company financials, investor reports, operating summaries
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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21. 12. Getting promoted
Never stand still – finish your work early so you can
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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
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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
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As an individual contributor
Understand, then start living, the manager values
Read business books
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Ask your manager
Ask senior management
Visit Matt’s blog or his office
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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22. Bonus section
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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23. 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
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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24. 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
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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25. 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
planningReturn Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
Confidential • your assignments
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26. 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 lot
3. Never let attendance or appearance be an issue
4. No booze during the workday or in the office; moderate
drinking when out with colleagues or clients after work
5. Build your network at all levels in the organization – you
can be interested and learn without being a suck-up
6. Attitude and optimism count for a lot
7. Get your Inbox to Zero (or close) every evening
8. Absorb like a sponge – read, learn, meet, ask
9. You will get promoted if you (a) know what’s next, (b) start
doing it, and (c) keep being brilliant at your current job
10. 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!
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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27. GO FORTH AND CONQUER!
Confidential • Return Path, Inc. • Do Not Reproduce or Distribute • www.returnpath.net
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