Every company onboards new hires frequently. Irrespective of the job role, new employees are expected to give their best and perform well. Their contributions matter, but how many leaders invest time in training new hires to enhance their contributions? 

Training takes time. It is not an overnight task and certainly cannot be covered in a two-hour seminar. A new hire must be trained about the company’s vision, mission, objectives, workflows, culture, and core operations while also being taught ways to excel in their individual job role. 

Effectively conducted employee training sessions can significantly impact a company’s statistics for the better. In this article, we will talk about several strategies for training new employees efficiently. Let’s begin. 

  1. Plan ahead.

The first step to training a new employee should be done prior to the new hire’s beginning. Planning ahead is crucial. It would be best if you established the ‘what’ and ‘how’ – what you will train about and how you will do it. 

Creating updated standard operating procedures documentation and asking existing employees for their input on the training schedule can help eliminate confusion that comes with a lack of structure. Also, existing employees have first-hand knowledge about what they struggled with at the time of joining, so they can give insightful inputs to enhance the training’s quality. 

Customize. While planning and structuring the training schedule, try to customize it to the new hire’s job role as much as possible. Talk to the concerned department and see what knowledge is of utmost significance. Integrate it into the training schedule to ensure optimum efficiency. 

  1. Leverage the power of mentors. 

Implement ‘buddy programs,’ which are all about arranging for your team to mentor new hires. One mentor per new hire can help senior members feel valued while ensuring the new members are on the right path. New hires can approach their mentors whenever they have questions or feel lost about certain workplace elements. It gives each individual a great learning opportunity while allowing existing members to hone their leadership skills. 

  1. Ensure accessible and updated training materials. 

All training materials should be easily accessible to new hires. Your teams must work toward updating them regularly while placing them in a central location that is clear and easy to navigate. This strategy will save up a lot of time and effort, as employees can directly refer to this repository for questions or doubts until they learn the essentials by heart. It will increase productivity, reduce error rates, and ensure seamless workflows even with new hires. 

  1. Train about the company culture. 

Your company culture is an asset that’s significantly responsible for retaining existing talent while attracting new ones too. It is a vital pillar supporting your teams’ productivity levels and ensuring harmony in the workplace. Hence, new hires must be trained about your company culture to blend in properly. 

What employee-friendly policies do you offer? How much is flexibility in timings and hybrid working acceptable? How many paid leaves do employees have? Is a healthy work-life balance ensured? Is communication streamlined? Are expectations aligned with the company’s vision and mission? What values are absolutely non-negotiable? What kind of workplace etiquette is expected? Several questions like these must be answered so that new employees can be educated about the company culture from the very beginning. 

  1. Leverage technology.

Technology is a non-negotiable asset in today’s business world. Just like you automate workflows with several tech tools, you can also streamline the training of new hires with the assistance of technology. 

When a new hire joins, there is a lot of paperwork that has to be managed. It is a tedious but critical task that cannot be avoided. With the right tools, it can be automated and streamlined so that such administrative tasks don’t take up much time for the teams as well as the new employee. The freed-up time can then be used for more experiential learning, with extra time to focus on training and adjusting as per the company’s culture. 

  1. Ensure regular feedback and check-ins. 

Although regular check-ins and feedback are essential for every employee, it is exceptionally critical for new employees in the first few weeks of joining. As you track their progress, you get insights into how well your training strategies are working and what needs to be improved. You also gain insights into the pace at which the new employee works and how easily they are able to adapt to the new surroundings. 

Without regular check-ins and feedback, you miss out on an incredible opportunity for improvement. An encouraging dialogue with the new employee can do wonders both ways. Still, it requires an effort at the end of managers or leaders to ensure they regularly receive a safe space to talk about the challenges they’re facing. 

  1. Celebrate success. 

Celebrating good progress is essential to maintaining high morale in the team. Words of encouragement, recognition of achievements, and incentivized motivation can go a long way in helping you strategize training for success effectively. 

CONCLUSION

The quality of training you provide to new employees significantly determines how easily they will progress and how well they will perform. As much as it is essential to follow the strategies mentioned in this article, you must ensure the absence of one-sided conversations, information overload, and favouritism while training new hires. It can negatively impact morale and nullify the entire purpose of training. 

You can train new employees efficiently with effective strategies like planning ahead, mentorship, ensuring accessible learning materials, educating about company culture, leveraging technology, ensuring regular check-ins, and celebrating success.