Your 7 Step Pre-flight Checklist

For those wondering what pre-flight checks have to do with an article on Human Resources, let me bring about the similarity of the pre flight check procedure to that with a potential career change. This article walks the potential candidate “the pilot” going through the simple checks, which would mitigate some of the common risks.

The time of a career change is an emotional one, with mixtures of excitement of something new, apprehension, in some cases sorrow and its important to have the head in place while we embark on the next flight. The pre flight checklist gives a structure to making the transition and is similar to pilots going through the pre flight checklist every time they fly, irrespective of how experienced they are.

Coming from the Oil and Gas industry and having seen waves of redundancies, getting a job is priority for those looking for jobs vis-à-vis walking through a checklist, Very similar to the comic strip above, the gut feel would be to get airborne as quickly as possible.

Having said that some may realize the importance of the “pre flight check” after experiencing a perceived excellent career change gone awry. For those who have been fortunate enough to be cruising well, no harm in keeping the pre flight checklist in your overall pockets for the future.

While we all look at the right reasons for a job change viz. Career growth, Better compensation, Work life balance, Equal Opportunity, Dynamic work environment, etc. one must understand that these are the topics companies work on branding themselves on and hopefully the reasons which attracted you to the company.

While the recruiter does the check on whether you are the right candidate for the company and role, similarly it becomes the candidate’s (Pilots) responsibility to ensure that the new company is the right fit, especially if one is looking at a long haul flight.

Below are some of the pre flight checks one could do very easily, starting with the easy ones first.

1.    Financial Stability Check (Pre Flight Check)

It is always good to start your flight on a full tank of fuel; it flies you smoother, further and reduces your worry. Similarly joining a financially stable company makes for a smooth flight by ensuring a competitive salary is maintained with regular adjustments for market and performance as well as increasing the probability of getting your Incentive Plan bonus paid at the end of the year at the least.

Financial results and balance sheets are easily available online for most publicly listed companies. This document deserves a respectful overview and can tell a lot including the Revenue trends, Free Cash flow, profitability, compensation philosophy, salaries of the executives etc.

Reading the transcripts of the last investors calls would also give you an insight into the growth plans and larger objectives of the management as well as possible risks if the company is due to be acquired or merged.

Ownership also plays a key part as the financial objectives, growth plans, decision-making as well as long-term objectives could be very different from a private family run organisation to that of a large multinational corporation.

Researching News articles in case the company has made recent acquisitions or bids for the same and the reasons for the acquisitions are equally important to understand the long-term strategy of the company.

Transformation, Restructuring, Re-organization are buzz words which shows a change in strategy, it is critical to understand the part your new position has to play in it, in both the immediate and long term future.

2.    Ethics and compliance track record Check (Before Startup Check)

While you close doors and hatches, it is important to close out this check upfront. Unless you are the type who likes the thrill of living on the dark side, I would put this very high on the checklist.

The culture of ethics in an organisation will impact your day-to-day interactions. It may also haunt you for the rest of your career if you are stigmatized with having being associated with a company, which has a record of unethical practices.

With the Department of Justice in the US and the other countries tightening compliance to ethics, it is very easy to find details on companies and their non-compliance issues if any. It makes an interesting read as to the reasons and the reaction of the companies in terms of ownership to the non-compliance and the importance given to ethics.

An easy check is to see if the company has a portal for reporting compliance violations on their webpage, further checks could include policies for conflict of interest, anti harassment, non-discrimination etc.

Value statements of organisations say a lot other than just sounding nice and maybe a good idea to quiz your interviewers on “what the values mean for them”. It will give you a good idea on how serious those values really are, in addition to seeing how high ethics and compliance form part of the corporate value system.

3.    Networking Check (Startup Check)

Now that you are starting your engines and waiting for it to warm up, things become a little more difficult and would require the efforts on linking with others. LinkedIn is an all time favorite, but don’t limit yourself to that. Look at your college alumni networks or other professional networks. Portals like Glassdoor could give an indication if you are looking for employee ratings and feedback.

It would be helpful to prospective candidates if portals like LinkedIn and Glassdoor allowed ex-employees to volunteer to be referees for companies they have worked for. In the absence of that the hard work of finding the right connections in your immediate and extended network is the best way to approaching this check.

Just as organisations look at exit interviews for reasons of attrition, the feedback from ex-employee including retirees for future joiners is extremely valuable. It could tell you about the future growth plans, recent re-organizations, management changes etc.

Asking the networked connection, the question of “why the previous occupant left?” (If there was any) is important.

Lets not underestimate this step as even though it involves an investment of time and effort, it could get you very valuable feedback on the company, the role, maybe office politics or as close as feedback on your to be boss.

4.    Valuation feedback Check (Before Taxi Check)

This is the time when you interact with the Air traffic controller or Tower for your taxi directions, similarly it’s a time to do a direction check with the organisation you are going to join.

By this stage you are probably already at an offer stage or at the negotiations stage, if you did your first 3 pre flight checks well, you should be aware of the risks associated. Based on the risk evaluation you could be “all clear” to go or you could realize that your plane is “not fully serviceable”. Which brings you the decision point, either to abort the flight or based on your risk appetite get a “parachute” (risk mitigation measures) for yourself and those you are responsible for and continue with your flight. Your parachute could be in the form of sign on bonuses, stock options, a healthy severance payout etc.

Vice a versa if you feel the company is throwing in a lot of bells and whistles ask yourself why, remember there are no free lunches.

Take time to understand your compensation package including the Guaranteed Cash, Incentive plans and Benefits Plans. Benefits plans are versatile and could include plans on pension, savings, profit sharing, higher education, scholarships, flexi working or could be as basic as the statutory benefits on Insurance and workmen’s compensation. Try to put a valuation on your benefits and align them with your personal needs and priorities.

Note there maybe caveats of vesting if you are being given sign on Employee stock options or Restricted Stock units and these might be worthless in case its part of your parachute.

The time the organisation takes to explain your total package to you is an indication of how much they value you and the importance the organisation puts on onboarding and you need to understand your package before you join, including the policies related to the elements in your offer letter.

Lets not forget to check on your existing contract with your current employer for any non-compete clauses, which might make you abort the flight.

5.    Cultural Compatibility Check (Taxi Check)

You are already rolling by now and getting into a queue for your take off.

Family run businesses could have a very different culture to that of a multinational corporation. While both have their positives and negatives it is something for you to keep in your consideration.

If you are confident enough, take the risk of tactfully challenging your interviewer and see the reaction, does the organisation like challenges or prefers to have you do what you are being told. The reaction of your interviewers is a good indication of the receptiveness of the organization. This is especially important if you are going into the role of a change agent.

A tip to consider if you are scheduled to have multiple rounds of interviews is to keep a standard question for all the interviewers and check for consistency of response. It would give you an idea on alignment of the organisation and the strength of internal communications.

Chatting with the receptionist while waiting for an interview (if possible) is an important source of information and culture. Does she/he “Sir” people while answering internal calls? Does she/he jump to her feet when a senior manager passes by. The gossip at the reception may also give you an indication of office politics.

Every organisation has office politics, however the answer to know is, “Does the office politics hamper decision making which is in the interest of the organisation”, “does it stifle meritocracy”?

It would be na?ve to expect to learn about the extent and type of office politics while being external to the organisation, however you would get indications from your previous pre flight checks as well as the others you follow.

Learn about Organisational Mafias if any. Did I just say that? Corporates don’t have Mafias. Different organizations call them different names like cliché’s, lobbies, influencers, etc. Lets not forget the godfathers and godmothers and just like in the movie, associating with godfathers/godmothers has its own risks, especially if you are joining an organisation due to one.

The dress code, the liveliness, the way employees greet each other etc. gives you an idea of whether the organization is conservative or Liberal. The type of industry could also dictate the culture.

The perfect culture is what suits you and makes you give your best and that’s a very personal decision, it could be a choice to go in for an informal and liberal work environment or a very structured and formal environment. One must note an incorrect fit could be claustrophobic and would surely end in a crash if not a very turbulent flight.

6.    Walk around / Verification Check (Before Take off Check)

This is your last check before you get your instructions to commence take off. If you have done your previous checks well, you should be bubbling with confidence or else by now you have made the decision to abort take off.

You have done your role on selling yourself and have accepted the offer, this is the phase where you should have all your sensors on at a 100% and simply observe and decipher what you observe.

Although many organisations may not encourage this, request for a visit to the office and meet with your would be team before you put in your notice period with the previous organisation. Confident and Liberal organisations will welcome this request with warmth and may even get you an opportunity to meet with the leadership team. Needless to say you should have visited the to be organization at least once in the process until the stage you accept the offer.

I know of organisations, which may organise a meeting with the leadership team for you to question them and hear their experiences. Observe the length of seniority, their career path within the organization, the way they developed their teams etc.

Observe the posters on the walls, look for internal recognitions / client recognitions, awards/ group event trophies as well as messages from the CEO. Some may even have a lessons learned /glory wall.

Look out for diversity among the leadership team and ask of the steps the company is taking to promote diversity and inclusion.

Observe the body language of people when they meet and greet you and specially people who are not directly involved with you and how they interact with each other.

Your senses of sight, hearing along with the 6th sense should give you the right signals of the positive energy or of the lack of the same.

7.    Farewell Check (Take off Check)

In a few moments you will be experiencing the adrenaline of opening up throttles and feeling the energy of your engines and it’s a beautiful experience but lets not forget the important part of farewells.

If you are leaving an existing job, there are emotions and bonds, which you have built, and its important to keep those secured and celebrate them even if it means letting your hair down with “Auld Lang Syne”.

Ensure you leave your current employer on good terms (if possible) with a clear understanding of the reasons you are leaving for. A good recommendation goes a long way and it’s important to get those while memories are still fresh.

I know of organisations with prolonged notice periods and these can be agonising as the spirit has flown and the shorter this is for both the employer and you, the better. This does not mean leaving a mess for your successor but instead setting a bar of a perfect handover thereby confirming your good will and your sense of responsibility to the organization you have been loyal to.

Loyalty is a difficult one to deal with, especially if you are moving across to competition and the pilot must prepare herself/himself for this psychological turbulence in both the previous and the new organisation. Irrespective of the emotions, it is very important to respect the confidentiality of the practices and procedures one learned with the previous employer.

It’s now time to leave the vibrations of the run-up behind as you gently take to the air and get ready for wheels up.

As you are the pilot the checklist continues till you land and shut down, but that’s for a different time

Enjoy your flight.

The author is a Human Resources Professional with over 20 years of experience in the Middle East, Russia, Africa and Asia Pacific and if you haven’t guessed by now is also an aviation enthusiast.

Credit: Comic strip supplied courtesy of copyright holder Chicken Wings Comics and reproduced with permission. For aviation enthusiasts more comic strips available on the link https://www.chickenwingscomics.com