The Spacesaver Sidekick Program

Editor's Notes

• #2: Welcome to the elite Spacesaver Sidekicks! In today’s webinar, you’ll learn the purpose of this program and expectations of a Sidekick. You’ll also learn the benefits to our new hires, our chosen Sidekicks and to Spacesaver.
• #3: The purpose of new team members being assigned to a Sidekick is to help welcome team members and to reaffirm their decision to join Spacesaver. It provides new team members with a reliable, motivated, single point-of-contact for their basic questions. It also helps establish orientation as a process, rather than a single learning event.
• #4: You’ve been chosen to be a member of the elite Spacesaver Sidekicks! Why? Sidekicks are chosen for their ability to communicate and motivate others. They also stand out as strong performers and are typically highly skilled in their roles. If you are all of these things and are a proud member of the Spacesaver Team, you are most certainty Sidekick material!
• #5: With great powers comes ordinary responsibilities! Spacesaver Sidekicks are NOT expected to move mountains and change the world. A Sidekick should simply befriend the new team member and make them feel welcomed. The relationship between a new team member and a Sidekick should be informal, relaxed, open and welcoming. You will be given a short checklist to guide you through the first 3 months of a new team members time at Spacesaver. The checklist will include things like brief weekly check-in meetings, getting to know other team members, and including them in meetings or other relevant events.
• #6: It’s important to stress that a Sidekick/team member relationship is a very informal and relaxed relationship. We do not expect you to groom the new team member into the next VP. A sidekick is NOT a Mentor: this is typically someone more experienced and involved more heavily in overall development of team members. A Sidekick is NOT a Manager: this is typically someone responsible for the new hires overall job performance and discipline. And, a Sidekick relationship does NOT take the place of the any formal training plan required for new team members.
• #7: The Sidekick isn’t the only one that has a mission to complete. Our new team members are expected to actively participate in the Sidekick Program. The expectations of our new team members are that they will receive constructive criticism in good spirit, display a “coachable” attitude, eagerness to learn, and they will attend regular check-in meetings with their Sidekick.
• #8: Here are a few tip to be the best Sidekick you can be. Be patient: It takes time to develop a relationship. Don’t try to cover everything right away. Don’t try and force a relationship, you don’t have to be best friends, just an accessible resource. Be positive: New team members will grow into their roles if given proper reinforcement. Don’t be judgmental, simply offer feedback. Most importantly, try to remember how you felt and what you needed as a new hire. Lastly, be bold and have fun-it’s contagious!
• #9: While you may not end war or cure cancer, you do have the ability to have a huge impact on the team members that you partner with. Thank you very much for taking the time to view this webinar today and for accepting the Sidekick Mission!