Born to Run

Can you trust an entry-level hire with more than make-work? FreeMarkets OnLine founders Glen Meakem and Sam Kinney don't hesitate to hand employees like Emily O'Brien an airplane ticket, along with orders to explore a new market or to contact a prospective customer. Although Meakem says that he's careful not to risk everything on the business judgment of a 22-year-old, he knows from experience how much young people can accomplish. "In 1991, I left the Harvard Business School to lead a combat-engineering platoon in Desert Storm," he says. "Most wars have been won by 25-year-olds leading 18-year-olds, and young people started many of the largest companies in the world today."

Meakem's young turks do pay their dues -- in FreeMarkets's fashion. Each Friday, the newest employee must collect money for beer. But there's meaning even in the mundane: "That's a pretty useful chore, because you get to talk to everyone in the company," says O'Brien, who has taken her turn as the designated bartender.

At Enterprise, Tim Hutchins gets the coffee brewing each morning. Once properly caffeinated, he begins chipping away at the tasks that all branch-level workers share. Someone has to stand behind the counter, so he does a shift there once a week. He also spends hours on the phone, since most customers call Enterprise's branches directly for reservations. He pores over the budget, he dabbles in collections, and he even helps out with shift scheduling by playing weather forecaster. "We always see demand increase 48 hours after a storm -- from people who have wrecked their cars. We try to have an extra person in on those days."

But the work that Hutchins enjoys most is sales -- which is also the work that drives his branch's success. Long ago, Enterprise realized that the key to attracting business was establishing ties with insurance-claims adjusters and with employees at local body shops -- people who could refer business to the company. So, almost every week, Hutchins hits the road to visit accounts, dishing out doughnuts and spreading the Enterprise gospel. Last summer, when the mercury soared past 100 degrees, he made his rounds in a rented ice-cream truck. "Being an entrepreneur is what's cool these days," he says. "And that's what I get to do here."

Ron Lieber (rlieber@fastcompany.com) is a senior writer at Fast Company.

Sidebar: How to Design a Great First Job

By the time they arrive at your doorstep, your new hires will have been wooed by many organizations. So their expectations will be high. Entry-level work can be mundane. But most first-time hires don't know that -- since no one dares to tell them the truth during the recruitment phase. Here are ways to soften their landing.

Roll out the welcome wagon.

Get rid of the administrative stuff beforehand. There's no quicker way to kill youthful enthusiasm than to choke it with hours of filling out forms. Before your recruits start work, send all the necessary paperwork to their homes.

Spend the first few days introducing new hires to your mission, strategy, and culture. Make them feel like part of the team. "It amazes me that companies don't take the time to explain to new hires how their businesses actually make money," says Maury Hanigan, whose company -- Hanigan Consulting Group, based in New York City -- focuses on recruiting and retention. "How is the company positioned in its market? What do its various divisions and departments do? How do they all fit together?"

One more first-day tip: 22-year-olds love getting their own business cards. It makes them feel like the adults that they nearly are. Why not have a box ready for them on day one? And can we please get past those boring white rectangles? It's much more fun to have something funky and colorful to hand out to your friends.

Let them hang with the stars.

Entry-level workers want to feel like they're in the loop. So give them access and exposure to the big thinkers on your staff. How can it hurt to let new hires sit in on a few strategy meetings? "There's rarely any reason to give out information on a need-to-know basis," says Marc Muchnick, a corporate consultant in Coral Springs, Florida, who helps companies like Fidelity groom their new hires. "So put your young employees into situations that they wouldn't otherwise be in."