Management Tip of the Day :3 People to Talk to When You’re New on the Job

HBR :JULY 18, 2013

When you start at a new company, there is so much new information that it’s difficult to know where to focus. Here are three important sources you don’t want to overlook:

• Frontline employees. People who develop and manufacture products or deliver services can familiarize you with the organization’s basic processes and relationships with key customers.
• Integrators. Colleagues who coordinate interaction across functions (think project or plant managers) can tell you how different areas mesh—or don’t. They can shed light on the true political hierarchies.
• Natural historians. Keep an eye out for “old-timers” who have been with the firm for a long time. They’ll be able to teach you about the company’s mythology and the roots of its culture.

Adapted from The First 90 Days, Updated and Expanded.