A small urban business owner is seeking ways to help new employees quickly adapt to their working environment to improve productivity and profits. The document outlines 50 possibilities for achieving this, including encouraging a proactive approach in new employees, arranging mentors for them, and using floating hi-tech devices to assist employees. The most popular solutions are thought to be encouraging proactivity, assigning mentors, and deploying hi-tech help devices.

1. The Solutions For An Employer Of
A Small Urban Business Company
Fifty Possibilities

2. Solutions For The Employer

3. Problem Statement
A smart, pro-active, committed, supportive &
hard-working owner of a small urban
business needs a way to help new employees
adapt quickly & efficiently to their working
environment.
Because long time to adapt & learn skills weighs
on productivity and profits.

4. The Fifty Possibilities
 Introduce the company, its work, work culture in
the college / vocational school campus in detail
for recruiting purpose.
 Bring the college/ vocational school students in
the company campus for an in-depth tour.
 Update the company website with details about
job profiles, workplace & work culture.
 Company arranges contests for new employees
encouraging them to ''Know-thy-company.''
 Making the adaptation process Gamified - an
adventure - a challenge for the new employees.
The Obvious Solutions

5. The Fifty Possibilities contd..
 Senior/ old employees are asked for their
feedback for the best possible way to train.
 Encourage pro-active approach in new
employees.
 Audio - visual guidance - tutorials / interactive
guidance for employees
 Arranging the space in the company work-place
that boosts teamwork, creativity and productivity
 Each employee's monthly progress displayed in
visual format - work performance with
suggestions for improvement areas.
The Obvious Solutions

6. The Fifty Possibilities contd..
 Suggestion box and complaint box (online / offline)
 Regular Group activities of the employees outside
the office-hours e.g. sports, picnic, get-together,
community work etc. for them to bond.
 Buddy Programme - New employee adopted by a
senior / experienced employee each.
 Regular counselling for the new employees relating
to work-issues
 Using advanced communication technology for
trouble-shooting / enhancement of work-
performance
The Obvious Solutions

7. The Fifty Possibilities contd..
 Printing a thorough manual for each and every
aspect of work, related to the job profile of the
employee and encourage him/ her to by-heart it.
 Contest among employees to design the best
possible road-map to efficient work-practice.
 Contest among employees to design ways to
improve work efficiency.
 Incentives & privileges for efficient, productive &
dedicated employees.
 Colleges arrange for students’ internships in the
company for a hands-on experience.
The Obvious Solutions

8. The Fifty Possibilities contd..
 Apprenticeship programs by the company for the
final year students
 Bonding workshops/ programs for the employees
arranged by the company
 Arrange mentors for the new employees
 College/ school curriculum includes teaching skills
to students necessary for such jobs.
 Company encourages new employees to practice,
practice and more practice to achieve perfection.
The Obvious Solutions

9. The Fifty Possibilities contd..
 Reward the new employees who readily adapt to
their working environment and are efficient.
 Ensure to give feedback of customers [satisfied
and unsatisfied] to the employees.
 Keep scoreboards for the employee performance.
 Make the work-place more accessible and
facilitating for the employees.
 Encourage best practices at the work-place among
the employees.
 Keep the employees updated and upgraded on the
knowledge and skills front through various means.
The Obvious Solutions

10. The Fifty Possibilities contd..
 Establish trouble-shooting forums within the
workplace online/offline.
 Monitor the employee progress through audio-
visual devices and take actions accordingly.
 Design the road-maps to success for the new
employees.
 Create a 'family atmosphere' within the company
so the employees feel at ease.
 Create short videos of the work, work culture, aims,
goals and fun-moments of the company for the new
employees.
The Obvious Solutions

11. The Fifty Possibilities contd..
 Train the employees to utilize their work time more
productively.
 Discourage the practices that make the employees
inefficient or make them lag behind.
 Create a support-structure that enables the
employees and their families to live a happier,
healthier, fulfilling and secure life.
 Create healthy competitions for excellence among
your company units / teams / employees.
 Allow de-stressing facilities for the employees.
The Obvious Solutions

12. The Fifty Possibilities contd..
 Making new employees ''DREAM'' their tasks and
the necessary practical guidance during their REM
sleep.
 Robots to give guidance to new employees.
 Make the mundane jobs in the company more fun.
 Threaten the employees with dire consequences if
they are not efficient.
 Have floating hi-tech help-devices at the work-
place that help the employees in need.
The Not-So-Obvious Solutions

13. The Fifty Possibilities contd..
 Automized feed-back on each and every task-
completion for the employees
 Arrange ‘Creativity Galore’ for the employees to
generate & brainstorm new ideas regarding work.
 Medicate the employees to increase their efficiency
& productivity.
 Convince the customers to sponsor the specialized
trainings for the employees
 Get the government aid or private aid for improving
the work efficiency & performance of employees.
The Not-So-Obvious Solutions

14. The Fifty Possibilities contd..
 Automized feed-back on each and every task-
completion for the employees
 Creativity Galore for the employees to generate &
brainstorm new ideas regarding work.
 Medicate the employees to increase their efficiency
& productivity.
 Convince the customers to sponsor the specialized
trainings for the employees
 Get the government aid or private aid for improving
the work efficiency & performance of employees.
The Not-So-Obvious Solutions

15. The Fifty Possibilities contd..
 Steal the competent employees from the
competitors.
 Fine your employees for negligence or
incompetence.
 Make your employees feel pride & belongingness
towards their work.
 Establish an atmosphere of easy camerederie
within the work-space.
 Share company profits with the employees.
The Not-So-Obvious Solutions

16. The IDEA SELECTION
Encourage pro-active approach in new
employees.
When each new employee is self-motivated, pro-
active and ready to adapt, it promotes a healthy,
competitive, efficient and productive atmosphere in
the company.
1. The Most Practical Solution

17. The IDEA SELECTION
Arrange mentors for the new
employees
Each new employee gets his or her own personal
mentor who guides and coaches them step-by-step
outside the office hours, so that the employees feel
at ease within the work-space and are able to
adapt quickly and efficiently to their work-
environment.
2. The Most Disruptive Solution

18. The IDEA SELECTION
3. The Most Favorite Solution
Have floating hi-tech help-devices at the
work-place that help the employees in
need.
These auto-sensory, hi-tech devices pick up the distress/agitation
signals given out by the employees, monitor their work progress,
pick out their vulnerable work areas and coach or guide them
accordingly. These devices are also connected to the main
database of the company. They keep track of the employee, feed
data to it and indicate problem areas with suggestions for
improvement.

19. Iravati Kulkarni, Design Thinking Action Lab 2013.