Employees are most willing and excited to learn during their first few weeks on the job. As a manager, it’s your responsibility to make sure your new hire training is setting employees up for success. The success of your new hire training strategy doesn’t just affect your business, it can have a lasting impact on a person’s career.
Blended Training for New Hires
Learning by doing is the most effective form of training, but you also want to make sure new employees have a basic idea of what they’re doing before you throw them into a shift. When it comes to compliance training, you have an obligation to make sure new employees know the standards of operation before they start working. Your training strategy for new hires – and all your employees for that matter – should include a supportive balance of blended learning. Use a variety of training methods, such as online learning, job shadowing, and mentoring.
Ongoing Skill Assessments
As the training progresses, use skill assessments to evaluate the progress of your trainees and the effectiveness of your training strategy. Be objective as you assess employees’ progress and how effectively they are developing their skills. Proper evaluations will allow you to continually customize training plans based on the capabilities of each employee. Your ultimate goal is to have well-trained employees who have the knowledge and skills they need to be successful on the job.
Work with each trainee to complete the skill assessment. Responses are broken down into 3 categories:
1. I would have difficulty completing this task on my own.
With this answer, you will identify areas the trainee is not grasping. If left alone with this task, they would most likely not succeed. They need more training and more practice time.
2. I need some more practice.
This statement will identify a responsibility that the trainee understands and can complete, but in order to be more efficient, they need more time to practice.
3. I have a high level of confidence
This will identify areas in which the employee no longer needs to spend training time on. Their remaining time should be shifted to other areas.
The importance of a standardized training strategy for new hires can’t be overstated. Yet many managers get into the habit of taking shortcuts, giving new hires a tour of the place and a few guidelines, then tossing them into the fire of the shift. Don’t make the same mistake. During the first week of employment, build confidence and comfort with the job. Your efforts will pay off in the long run.
