Wise Startup Blog

Training employees for only two weeks before throwing them to the wolves just doesn’t cut it. Very few people can learn enough in such a short time to perform their job functions properly. This leads to mistakes and wasted money because employees are forced to learn from failures due to a lack of training. Solutions to this issue do exist and it’s more than just extending the amount of time someone is trained.

Training programs including real world scenarios and constructive feedback allow new employees to learn without the fear of making a mistake costing them their job. This type of training can help turn your new employees into better assets capable of saving your company money and producing better results throughout their career with you. Here are some of the things to consider before choosing your training program.

Training New Employees Properly

1.  Training Period

Two weeks isn’t long enough, in most cases, but how long should you train new employees? Training is different from orientation and the first two weeks of a new employee’s career is basically orientation. They need to figure out where things are, whom they report to and other important things to help them acclimate to the new work environment.

Training, on the other hand, can last for a very long time. It can start with a period of specific training before they take their skills into the actual market, but it lasts beyond this period. New employees need a mentor and this relationship lasts until they become the mentor themselves. Mentoring with a positive attitude can help a new hire grow into a leader for the company in the future.

2.  Prompt Feedback

If you expect a new employee to grow without your feedback, you’re sorely mistaken. You need to use your business communication skills to provide feedback to new employees as soon as they do something good or bad. Without this feedback, they cannot learn and grow within your company.

3.  Encourage Questions

Managers expecting new employees to figure it out on their own without questions are not training them. They are just expecting them to train themselves and this usually leads to a bad situation. Make sure you encourage your new employees to ask questions. Even questions you think they should already know the answers to, are important. We all learn differently and at our own pace and allowing new hires to ask questions will show you how much they know, what they are catching on to and the areas you need to continue to work on.

Use these tips within your training program and make sure you’re focused on working with them instead of just throwing them to the wolves before they’re ready. If possible, use real world scenarios and hands on training methods to help them apply their skills before they actually put these skills to work for your company.