This month, we welcomed a new member to team Abraham, in the form of a nine-week-old red fox Labrador named Mabel. Whilst there was of course the initial chaos that inevitably comes with bringing home a puppy, I am pleased to report that Mabel has already settled in and established herself in the family! It certainly helps that Mabel is a charmer – never have the kids been so quick to book trains home for a weekend! – and I have no doubt that she’s cute enough to be running the show in no time if she really wanted. However, as in any unit, welcoming Mabel in and helping her to find her place has been a process (albeit one that involves lots of tummy rubs).

Ahead of Mabel arriving, there were numerous steps to take establishing the type of dog we wanted, identifying reputable breeders supplying the breed of interest, seeing and meeting a line-up of very cute puppies, including Mabel. Once they had been first interviewed, we narrowed our thinking down to three bitches before we settled happily upon Mabel. She passed our rigorous 2 stage interview process aka visits to play (see above regarding tummy rubs), we assessed her track record to date, took up background checks, aka referencing (i.e. lineage of parents, hip score, etc.). It was then a question of preparing our home for her arrival to make sure she’d be as comfortable and happy as possible.

Mabel’s first day was as exciting as you’d imagine, with her getting to know the sniffs and smells of her new home, settling into her crate and becoming familiar with the resources at her disposal (i.e. a huge bag of toys and teddies). Once settled in, we wasted no time beginning training, starting with basics and essentials – onboarding, as we all know, is a very important part of Mabel’s induction that will benefit both of us, now and in the long run.

While there may be fewer tummy rubs in the typical recruitment process, there are a lot of similarities I draw between selecting and welcoming a new puppy into our home as there is welcoming a new recruit into your business – principally, how important it is to have a structured recruitment process and a plan in place to maximise the opportunity for a seamless and successful integration into the team for both employer and employee. Even before their arrival, preparing their place in your team and having a development programme is essential to enable them to have confidence in beginning the next stage of their career, feeling accepted and capable of contributing, thereby being fulfilled and meeting the business needs.

Although Mabel will not be available, we at ABPM+ are experts in helping candidates and employers taking the next step in their career or business’ development. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.

 

Rej Abraham, Sarah Torrington, Matt Byrne, Alex Handford