SOO Culture Team Concept: Integrating New Team Members

It is already difficult enough to maintain a healthy and thriving office culture with all the human dynamics at play in the typical WFO environment. Adding a new team member into that space can make things even more difficult, not only on the person being added, but also for you as a SOO trying to help them adjust to life in a new place, forecasting in a new environment, and trying to figure out how best to use the new skills and talents that they bring with them, without stepping on other forecasters toes who may already be working in those spaces. We have to start by helping them get their feet on the ground and comfortable in their new environment.

New Team Member Documentation

Luckily, we can do a lot ahead of time in the form of a welcome packet for new forecasters. Some things that can be done ahead of time include:

Local WFO Welcome Packet and Reference Guide

This example from NWS El Paso is teeming with great information about the local area, how to help find housing, where to eat and shop etc. At the same time the forecaster can start getting acquainted with some of the basics of the WFO. On the flip side, parts of the guide can be used as a recruiting tool by highlighting some of the great things about your office and local area that would make it appealing to bid on.
Here's another example from NWS Mount Holly of a reference guide for new employees hired to the office.

New Employee Training Plan

We also need to map out a plan for your new employee to get up to speed on the meteorology side. These usually take the form of some kind of spreadsheet that lists all the training necessary. There is a template available for this as well, but there are other local examples floating around that you can borrow and adjust to your local office needs.

Here's another example from NWS Mount Holly of a potential new employee training plan.

If you don’t have these items in place yet you can find more templates on the NWS Mentoring Google Site's Welcome Packet Section.

Meteorologist Development Plan

In addition, you can use the Meteorologist Development Plan (MDP) on the Commerce Learning Center Site to pick and choose what you need for your employee given the stage in their career and the meteorology gaps that might need to be filled for the local area.

Local Mentoring Program

Speaking of the local mentoring program Google Site, it’s a great idea to set up some kind of mentoring structure for your new employee. Whether that is a one on one mentor/mentee structure or more of a team mentoring approach that offices use, it's a good idea to get the foundational ideas behind the program mapped out ahead of time. Remember that your incoming employee will also be unfamiliar with things like the focal point structure in the office or how certain programs are run.

Office Culture

Finally, don’t forget about the culture side of things! Where is the new employee in terms of their leadership development. Refer to the figure below for a rough guide on the progression of personal development. For more ideas please refer to the “Curriculum for Leading Up” on the “Leading Laterally and Leading Up” culture subtopic on this website, or check out your regional leadership development programs!