How does technology affect the process?

We use our collaboration application, called Chatter. Each new hire is part of a Chatter Group, a cross-functional group from IT, finance, sales and other functions, including people from outside the United States. We can see through the news feeds that Chatter helps us become less functional and more solutions-focused. An employee's level, function and country do not matter; they all have access to one another. This democratizes an employee's contribution to the company and access to information.

As the CIO and a manager, do you have your own best practices?

I hand every new IT hire a pin that reads "I heart my job" and give the same speech, regardless of level. It is our goal to make people not only like their jobs, but love their jobs. If there is a problem, they need to own it and their manager needs to help them with it. I also interview every finalist candidate before an offer is extended. Later on, I try to check in with them personally.

What have you learned about the on-boarding process over time?