New employees, and even those with previous experience, may require training to ensure they understand not only the job role and its requirements but also the ways of the company, expectations and how it operates.
It can take some time to recruit new members of staff and find the right candidates, so once you have them on the payroll, you’ll want to be sure you’ll get the best out of them through effective training. It’s not just about learning the job but also making it easier for a new employee to adjust and slide effortlessly into the role and the team.
If you’re looking for tips on how to train employees and design quality training programs, read on to discover some timely ideas.
Assign An Experienced Employee As the Trainer
This is a practice that is very common. A new worker arrives on the job for their very first day but hasn’t really got a clue where to start or what to do next. This is where assigning someone experienced in the role to show the new worker the ropes is very effective.
For the first few days, until the new recruit gets the hang of things, the experienced worker can show them step-by-step what to do, as well as answer any queries the new employee has.
It’s important to assign someone to the task which has a fair degree of patience when it comes to working with new recruits. An impatient person is only likely to make the new employee feel uncomfortable and afraid to ask for advice.
Create Presentation Videos For New Workers
These training videos can cover a number of different subjects, from the core values of the company, what the company expects from its workers, the benefits of working for the company, as well as instructional material on how to effectively perform the designated job role.
Professional and error-free video presentations can be an invaluable training tool. For one, they free up the time of bosses and employees, as the new recruit can simply watch the pre-made presentations at any time.
Live Training
There will be occasions where live training sessions are the way to go. This doesn’t just apply to new members of the team. It could be refresher training or training regarding a new product or process.
It’s vital that you keep these training sessions fun, social and interactive to engage everyone’s attention. The more interactive and interesting the training session is, the more likely employees are to retain the information they learn.
Viewing a series of static slide presentations is boring. It has its place but should be kept to a minimum and utilised only when necessary. Use role-playing scenarios if you have to and question and answer sessions are always a great way of getting people thinking, more involved and engaged in the subject matter.
No one wants to feel like they’re sitting through a lecture, so try and add some humour to the training if you can.
Enlist the Help Of a Professional Trainer
At various times, it might be beneficial to hire the services of a professional trainer, either to conduct live training sessions or to craft and create effective staff training materials.
Employee training is the domain and expertise of the professional trainer and once they understand what you need to convey to new recruits or even experienced members of staff, they’ll be able to put together a training package that will get the message across in such a way that the information is absorbed and retained.
Never Overload a New Employee With Too Much Information
Feeding a new recruit with manageable, bite-sized chunks of information is the way to go, rather than dumping everything in their lap on day one. Doing so would simply prove overwhelming for most people and they’ll likely learn very little.
Space the training and instruction out, providing teaching and information as required. They don’t need to learn everything instantly and the more spread out the training is, the easier they will learn and retain what they’ve been shown or told.
The Wrap
Training both new and experienced employees is something that’s necessary and with the right approach, the process can be relatively easy and will produce fast results.
