One of the hardest parts of the onboarding process is training new employees on the specifics of the business. This takes a lot of time and effort from managers, HR, and co-workers. Building out a top-notch training program will axe the hassle and create an inviting environment for the new employee.
Training Tips
There are many routes you can take when building out a training program for new employees. Being mindful of what works best for your organization and for the individual employee’s learning style will help you to create the best possible solution. However, each new employee will learn in a different way, so it’s important to build a program that fits the company and can then be altered for each new hire.
Tips for creating the best training program for new employees:
Learning Styles
- Having open conversations with the new employee about their learning style and expectations of the training process is a great place to start. This will help you figure out how you can alter the current training program to better fit their needs. For example, if the employee mentions that they are a visual learner, you can direct them to training videos and interactive guides. Or if they learn better by trial and error, have them start by playing around in a demo account. This will not only help them succeed but will also speed up the training process and start their contributions to the company sooner.
Company Culture
- Make sure to provide the new hire information on the company culture. Most likely the employee asked about the culture during the interview process. However, it’s important to remind them of what to expect when being a part of the team. Having all employees on the same page will increase the productivity and overall work environment.
SOPs
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are procedures specific to your organization. Training on SOPs will help set a new hire up for success as they are crucial to the function of the company. Some common SOPs might include industry-specific policies, best practices for keeping organized, file management, etc. The day-to-day practices like clocking hours, managing the calendar, and answering emails are also good to cover with SOP training. A full SOP guide is the best way to train so that employees can easily reference it at any time. Especially if some are used infrequently.
Mentorship
- A mentorship or shadowing program will help the training process stay consistent. It is extremely beneficial for each new hire to have one main point person to ask questions and see firsthand how the job is done. Most of the time this will be a co-worker in the same or a similar position or the direct manager of the new employee.
Learning Management Systems
Once you have built out your training roadmap, you can then gather everything you need into one place. Using a Learning Management System (LMS) will help the company stay organized and prepared for every new hire. LMS was created for e-learning, however, it can be used with in-person training as well. Successful training of new employees uses a variety of tools so that every learning style is accommodated for. LMS applications make it easy to have all the tools in one system.
Our LMS pick is Zoho Learn. This cloud-based application provides an easy way for everyone at the company to continuously learn and help train team members, both new hires and skilled employees. Within Zoho Learn you can create manuals, articles, quizzes, collaboration spaces, courses, and more! This wide range of functions will fit any learning style. With the reporting available inside of Zoho Learn, managers are able to track how well new employees are learning and if any current employees are looking to further their skill set.
The training doesn’t stop when the onboarding process is complete. In order for your employees to continuously grow and further their careers, they will need to stay on top of training. Creating a knowledge base in your LMS will provide a place for employees to teach each other and be able to easily reference new materials whenever necessary. One of the best parts of using an LMS is the limited amount of repetitive questions. Employees can easily find frequently used documents and guidelines all in one space.
Conclusion
Setting up an LMS and preparing for new employees might be time-consuming at first. However, in the long run, having everything set up for future hires will make the process smooth sailing. Not to mention your employees will thank you and stay with the company longer if they are successful from the start. Get Zoho Learn and start building your top-notch training program for new employees today. Check out our full product tutorial on Zoho Learn to find out more about this great application.
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