I love talking to our Chamber members. It is fascinating to hear from businesses first-hand the challenges they face. Last week we discussed the importance of mentors and how we need mentors to impart their industry and job knowledge to the younger generations. Along with being a mentor is also providing good training and orientation to your employees. I have heard from many businesses that Millennials need good training to stay.
It doesn’t matter who I talk to, everyone is busy in their jobs. It can be difficult to dedicate the time needed to properly train and new employees. I have heard stories of employees who are not given an orientation and their first day on the job, they are left on their own to figure out what they are supposed to do.
Training isn’t just important it is vital to any company. Forbes.com’s article said “Well trained employees are essential to any business. When employees have all the training, skills, and knowledge they need … they can perform their jobs with greater competency, serve your customers better and have fewer errors or accidents.”
Many businesses today say that development and training are expensive overhead costs. Some may argue that training sessions delays the completion of projects and cause a slowdown in production. One of our Chamber members has recognized the value of having good training and view training employees as in investment. They can’t say enough good things about the return on investment for providing employees with valuable, worthwhile ongoing training opportunities. The benefits of having a good work culture, employee satisfaction and longevity outweigh the company overhead training cost.
Benefits of good training include:
- Improved employee performance
- Improved employee satisfaction and morale
- Addresses weaknesses
- Greater consistency
- Increased innovation
- Reduced employee turnover
After being a stay-at-home mom for several years, when I re-entered the workforce, I was given a quick one-day training by the supervisor. The rest of my training was turned over to co-workers. Each co-worker would do the same task differently, which becomes confusing and difficult to remember the steps for the task. I started documenting the procedures for various transactions and tasks and created a how-to guide for all employees. Some of the tasks that were required were not done daily which is why there was confusion. When you do not do a task often enough you forget and this manual was quickly utilized by the entire team including supervisors and front-line employees.
It is important for businesses, to make sure there is adequate training and resources available so that your staff can be successful with all their duties.
- Have a plan for each different job
- Have a clear understanding of the skills needed in each job for the employee to be successful.
- Provide documentation if needed. Updated outdated documentation if needed.
- Host Regular Training Sessions
- Regular training sessions provide you with the opportunity to address issues that arise and brainstorming more streamlined processes if needed.
- Depending on your industry you might have to hold more than one training session to accommodate shifts and schedules.
- Use Employees as Trainers
- Asking competent employees to step in and assist with training. This partnership creates an immediate peer mentor relationship.
- Often the front-end staff will know the systems and the tips and tricks better than upper management because they perform the tasks daily and have learned the quirks and how to navigate some of the challenges.
- Cross Train Workers
- Cross-training employees helps to fill gaps when there are staff shortages. It also provides an opportunity for staff to gain new skills and a better perspective of others’ positions.
- Set Training Goals
- Management needs to honestly evaluate if the current training program is working, set goals, track goals to determine where corrections are needed and to monitor progress.
Betterteam.com has a New Employee Training Checklist which is a great resource to use. It includes details such as test training trends, review training strategy, divide training into modules, communicate outcomes and provide feedback.
Knowing how to train new employees effectively means happier employers and better retention rates.
Cheryl Viola, MBA, Executive Director
References
- Bleich, C. (2018, April 11). How to Train Your New Employees Effectively. Retrieved from https://www.edgepointlearning.com/blog/how-to-train-new-employees/
- The Importance of Training and Development in the Workplace. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://2020projectmanagement.com/resources/project-management-training-and-qualifications/the-importance-of-training-and-development-in-the-workplace
- Kappel, M. (2018, February 7). 5 Tips For Successful Small Business Employee Training. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikekappel/2018/02/07/5-tips-for-successful-small-business-employee-training/#119b6f675cc9
- The Secret to Training New Employees for Long Term Success. (2019, July 30). Retrieved from https://www.betterteam.com/training-new-employees