Best Tips for Training New Employees In Your Company

The first few days on the job are stressful for everyone. You could hire the most qualified candidate in the world, and he or she could still take weeks or months to get up to speed. It takes time to get to know a company, learn its idiosyncrasies, and feel comfortable as part of the team. Depending on the job, it can take 6 months to a year (or even more!) for a new employee to really add value and feel part of the team. This is a big reason why reducing turnover is so critical to business success – and reducing turnover starts on day one.

Induction sets the course for the time your employees spend with the company. The way you welcome and train your new employees says a lot about you and provides important information for team members. If you think you can improve the onboarding process for new employees (and let’s face it, any company can!), start by implementing these five tips.

1.Use mentors

One challenge with bringing new employees into your organization is that each person only has so much time for training. Even if you have your own trainer, you can delegate some of the processes to more experienced team members. They can show new staff around, act as a resource for questions and help them get up to speed. This has the added benefit of making the more senior team members feel valued and trusted. When new staff comes on board, they easily feel left out. When experienced employees act as mentors, they are included in the process and feel involved.

Mentoring helps give new employees an anchor and a point of reference. During the hiring process, you should screen each candidate to see if they will fit into the company culture, but each new employee will need some time to get to know the rest of the team. Mentors can help new hires fit into the company culture more quickly.

2.Encourage questions and ideas

Think back to your first day at work. Were you nervous? Were you afraid to ask questions or put forward your ideas? Most people are – they don’t want to appear stupid or rock the boat. However, it is important to encourage your new employees to ask questions and put forward ideas. If they don’t ask questions, they will make more mistakes at first and it will be harder for you to determine how well they understand the training material. By inviting them to share their ideas, you may get innovative ideas that you had not thought of before. Make it clear that all questions and ideas are welcome from the beginning.

3.Provide resources

With so many new faces and tasks and so much information, new staff can get lost or overwhelmed. A guidebook and training manual is a good start, but you should also provide new employees with a team directory and a contact person. Provide them with information about the company and any other resources you would want them to have in a new workplace.

4.Get creative with feedback

Consistent, constructive, and frequent feedback during the onboarding process is important to avoid mistakes and bad habits while ensuring that your new employees understand your company’s expectations. Both verbal and written feedback is a necessary part of the training, but you don’t have to settle for simple comments and notes. Why not get creative with your feedback? If you are training for the same position over and over again, you could create quiz games to test your employees’ knowledge and give them points or other immediate feedback. When you “gamify” feedback in this way, the critique becomes less personal while helping new employees learn. It is also a good idea to let trainees apply what they have learned immediately to correct anything that might be unclear.

5.Promote a healthy work-life balance

Work-life balance is a hot topic these days – especially because so few Americans have it under control. About 70% of American workers struggle to stick to a long-term plan to maintain balance.

Your training protocols not only teach new employees how to do their jobs but also send signals about your company culture and unwritten rules. If your new employees see that everyone stays late four out of five days a week, they may feel pressured to do the same. This may sound good, but a healthy work-life balance is a key to ensuring productivity and preventing burnout.

As well as leading by example, give your new employees the flexibility and encouragement they need to prioritize their wellbeing. Ask them in advance if they have any conflicts and do your best to plan training around them. Don’t keep your staff too long – let them go home and get some rest so they come back the next day refreshed and ready to learn.