Establishing Effective Training

Training is a draining task. It’s tedious – talking, explaining, reiterating – a lot of emotional and mental input. Not everyone has the patience, the skill, or the communicative abilities to do it, much less do it well. Because of that, establishing effective training practices is necessary.

Not only does an established training program teach others how to do their job, it also explains the “why” behind what they do. It sounds complicated, and it is – but once you have this in place, the hardest part is over.

As I’ve mentioned before, the training program should be a direct reflection of your company’s SOPs. This is another reason why it’s imperative to keep them updated.

Establishing effective training begins with your SOPs.

Before we can run, we have to walk, yes? This concept is especially true when we learn new things. In other words, start with the basics, then add details as you go. Yes, it’s really THAT simple.

For example, you took drivers ed class BEFORE you got behind the wheel. There was studying involved, reading materials, and tests (the foundation) in a classroom setting BEFORE you were allowed to get behind the wheel. Training at a new job is the same. We have to learn the basics in a classroom type setting BEFORE we actually DO the job.

If you follow this process consistently, you’ll be able to recognize patterns – either with the training program itself, or the way the processes are explained in the training manual. This provides valuable insight as to what’s working and what’s not. (We’ll get into all that at a later time.)

It starts at the very beginning.

The following is a tried and true method of establishing a well trained employee:

1. Provide your new employee with ALL the materials they need to succeed at their job.
   • This is a hodgepodge of documentation and paperwork pertaining to their new job and the information they will need to complete their job.
     • IE: Training manual, employee handbook, login credentials, list of contacts, etc.
2. Sit with them one-on-one to:
   • Review and complete the necessary paperwork.
   • Discuss the length of their training schedule, who they’ll be training with and their contact information, and what to expect during the training process.
   • Ensure their login credentials work such as clocking in, access to online training portals, employee login pages, etc.
   • Review and clarify any other questions or concerns they may have.

Establishing effective training is tedious, especially if there’s no existing program.

It’s easier, and typical, for employers to hand a new employee the manual and have them read it on their own time. This is “a way” to do it, but it’s not effective. There’s no guarantee they’re actually going to read it, let alone understand it. Not to mention, they should be paid for their time going over it.

If you really want to ensure your employees truly understands your company and their role within it, you must review the entire employee handbook and training manual together. Yes, you read that right. It’s tedious and time consuming, but it’s the most effective way.

This can be accomplished in one of two ways:

1. Have two printed manuals – one for you and the other for your new employee. Read over each section, not necessarily word for word, but explicitly enough for them to understand the information you are presenting.
   • Paraphrase and summarize in areas where you can, but be thorough enough they remember the important pieces of information.
   • For the best results, recap after each section. Take breathers to break up the monotony.
2. Have them read the sections on their own, but after each completed section, you review it with them to highlight the important takeaways.
   • This method is great for identifying those who learn quickly vs. those who might need more attention during training.

After each section, ask them questions or create a brief quiz to evaluate their knowledge and understanding of the information reviewed.

Set a standard “passing grade” and review the section if their score is below the standard. This will also help identify who is reading the manual and who is not.

Doing this provides a through and detailed beginning to their employment and solidifies what they can expect during the rest of their training.

Remember:

Each person will have different styles of learning. For some, it’s reading whereas others learn best from watching, listening, or doing. An effective training program should hit ALL of those styles of learning.

We also can’t expect them to retain ALL the information provided right from the start. We layer the information as we go, learning the basics at the beginning and reference it later when begin the hands on portion of training.

Think of the classroom training like we’re pouring concrete for our foundation. We have to make sure it’s made with integrity so it will last a long time.

Effective training affects more than just our new employees; it affects ALL the employees.

How well someone is trained, or isn’t, directly affects the rest of our team. If one person slacks because they weren’t properly trained, the rest of the team feels responsible to make up for that slack, and is often expected to. By training them properly from the beginning, we can prevent that from happening on a consistent basis.

Have you established a training program? Does it seem to be working, or does it need to be revamped?

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