When it comes to hiring, the work doesn’t end when the new employee begins. In fact, as one of the top staffing firms in South Florida, Future Force knows what you do for a recent hire in those first few weeks can determine whether or not they succeed at the company or jump ship after a few months.
One of the keys to successful integration is effective training. Creating a training program for new hires is certainly an investment of time and resources. However, it’s well worth it in the form of improved business performance, profits and staff morale.
However, many employers make the same mistakes when it comes to training their employees. To ensure your company isn’t one of them, here are a few to avoid:
Mistake #1: Putting New Hires to Sleep
You’re trying to train staff, not bore them to tears. Remember, those first few days and weeks on the job are stressful for new employees. When they’re forced to sit in a room and listen to the ins and outs of company policy their second day on the job, they’re going to want to fall asleep. So skip the lectures, the silly games and the binders full of complex training materials.
Practical tip: Keep it short. If you have a lot of information to convey, then break it up into bite-size chunks. New hires don’t need to learn everything about the company in one, eight-hour day.
Mistake #2: Overwhelming Employees With New Skills
You need your new hire to get up and running as soon as possible. But showing them how to do 10 different tasks in one day isn’t a good idea. They won’t retain anything you teach them.
Practical tip: Segment training so you focus on one new skill or task each day. Then take the hands-on approach and let the employee do it themselves under your supervision. They’ll make mistakes. But they’ll also be far more likely to remember what they learn.
Mistake #3: Choosing Weak Trainers
If you’ve tapped people on your team to train new hires, then it’s critical to make sure they have the right personality to teach. They may be the most literate with a particular technology or strongest in a certain area, but educating someone else takes a whole different skill set.
Practical tip: When choosing trainers, look for people who are born educators. They must be good listeners, patient, encouraging and know how to motivate people.
Training sessions are one of the first experiences a new hire will have with your company. Don’t take a business-as-usual approach. Invest the time and effort to ensure your program is the best it can be. You’ll benefit from more engaged, informed and motivated additions to your team as a result.
Need more help finding, hiring and training new people? Call Future Force. As one of the top staffing firms in South Florida, we can help you hire skilled, dependable employees on a full-time, part-time or temporary basis and ensure they get up to speed – and productive – as soon as possible. Contact Future Force today to learn more.