As the owner or manager of a business, it may be one of your responsibilities to create a training program that helps your new employees learn the ropes of their positions. Training programs can come in almost unlimited shapes and forms because no two jobs are exactly alike which is why it is almost always beneficial to create a new program from the ground up to fit your company’s individual needs. A good training procedure will help set up your new employees for success which will, in turn, set up you and your company for success as well. Here are five of the best training tips that will get all of your company’s new hires started out on the right foot as quickly as possible.
Digital Training Exercises
As mentioned above, your training programs should be unique to you, and part of building that program should include creating interactive digital training. If you have programmers on staff, this should not be a problem, but if you don’t, you will have to outsource the job. These training procedures should involve more than simple videos and walls of text. Allow your employees to explore dynamic panels of information, and create short benchmark quizzes through the training process. Make sure that this software gives your employees a good first impression, especially if they are going through PLC training. You don’t want to show your new programmers that your other programmers cannot do their jobs.
Take and Provide Notes
One of the most discouraging things a new employee can experience is being whisked through a training process and forgetting the small but important details. You cannot reasonably expect anyone to do a job perfectly after hearing an explanation once, so don’t just encourage note-taking, but provide a short list of important points or frequently asked questions that they can keep and consult when necessary. Provide these documents in both physical and electronic formats if possible to meet everyone’s desires. Prioritize electronic copies because they are harder to misplace and can be reproduced easily if that happens.
Assign a Mentor
Integration is one of the best ways for anyone to learn anything. If your current team is comfortable taking on some extra work by showing the ropes, have your new hire shadow your existing employees for a day or two. The new people will likely be more comfortable asking questions to their peers or people in their departments rather than their boss, and it will help show them what a typical day at work will be like when they are on their own. If the department is large enough, make sure that the people you assign to be mentors are personable and helpful to make new hires more comfortable.
Start Work Early
While thorough training is vital for helping people settle in and do effective work at your company, new employees will get restless if they are forced to go through too much monotonous training before starting any real work. Don’t bombard them with a task when they first enter the building, but you should give everyone something to do within the first few hours of starting work. Not only will this task keep new people from getting bored, but it also makes them feel that they are needed immediately. The task does not have to be overly complex or important, but it should create that illusion.
Get Feedback
Don’t let your ego prevent you from seeing the flaws in the design of your program and working to fix them. No one knows how effective your training procedures are better than the employees who experience them, so always gather feedback from your new employees after they complete your program and get settled in at your company. Surveys are a great way to measure people’s feelings on experiences, but you should always include a section for comments at the bottom in case the questions you ask do not address the proper issues. Listen to what your employees have to say and change your procedures based on those recommendations.
It can be tempting to brush off training programs as an insignificant part of the experience your workplace provides, but that is not the case. One of the worst feelings is going into a new place, especially a job and not knowing the duties you are expected to perform. Training not only makes your company more productive, but it also makes your employees happier and more comfortable. Use digital technology to your advantage. It is incredibly versatile in what it can provide, and more people are getting used to using it every day. Successful businesses capitalize on all the resources they have at their disposal so that they can stay ahead of the competition and keep their customers and employees happy and satisfied with everything they do.
