New Hire Assimilation and Training- Finding the Right New Hire Trainer

We spent time reviewing effective interviewing and selection practices. This week we will look at how to effectively integrate and train your new employees to prepare them for a successful career with your organization.

TADA...YOU JUST HIRED THE PERFECT CANDIDATE!  NOW WHAT?

You spent all of that time and effort interviewing all of those candidates and you finally found one who you believe will be a perfect match for your team. Unfortunately, you may not be prepared for your next big challenge. How are you going to integrate and train your new hire once they start??

One of the biggest mistakes both new and experienced supervisors make is failing to invest sufficient time and resources into acclimating and training new employees in the early days of their employment with the company. Virtually everyone has some type of horror story about a time when they were thrown into a job and left for dead. Although this may be a bit of an exaggeration, it certainly feels that way if you are the one going through it. Most leaders who have been in the workforce for any amount of time should be able to draw on their own negative experiences to better prepare for this area of their supervisory responsibility.

Leaders need to understand that most human beings like consistency and comfort; we like to be familiar with our surroundings. Many people struggle with change and experience significant stress when they find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Let’s face it: the stress that comes with starting any new job can be very overwhelming. As leaders we often compound our new employee’s stress level when we fail to create the right type of environment for our new hires to easily integrate into. Much like developing a first impression when you meet someone, your new hire will develop first impressions based on their experiences from the first few weeks of their new job. These experiences will shape their opinions about you, your team and your organization. It is critical for all leaders to understand that the first few weeks of any new employee’s work experience is absolutely critical for setting your new hire on a path to success.

YOUR PREPARATION WILL REAP DIVIDENDS

All too often supervisors consider the new employee’s first day the starting point of the process. Unfortunately, you will do a great disservice to your new employee if you don’t get a significant jump-start on the preparation process. A great deal of commitment and effort will be required when it comes to creating a plan for effectively integrating your new employee into the team. Just be mindful of the fact that putting a comprehensive plan together can be extremely time-consuming. The good news is, once you develop the plan, it can often be easily repeated with all of your future new hires. As with much of effective leadership, preparation is the key to success!!

There are several aspects involved in effectively integrating employees into their new environment. You need to prepare a plan for them with the following elements:

• Identify and assign an effective new employee trainer
• Create an effective training plan
• Prepare for the employee’s first week including how you plan to welcome them into the team
• Prepare to facilitate a thorough tour of the building and specific work environment

SELECTING THE RIGHT TRAINER

Selecting an employee who will be an effective trainer will create a positive experience for your newly hired employee. This person will be the employee’s life line for the first month or so. It is critical that you look for an employee who possesses the following characteristics:

• Excellent Communication Skills- The trainer must be able to easily adapt to the trainee’s communication style. They must be able to clearly articulate the employee’s new responsibilities in a broader sense as well as train the employee on the minute details of how various processes needs to be done. The trainer must also be able to provide you with feedback on the progress being made by the new hire. Therefore, having a good working relationship with the trainer is critical.
• Patience- It takes a special person to spend a significant amount of time with someone they just met. The trainer must be able to handle virtually any personality type and learning style. Even the smartest trainee may struggle with certain concepts or processes. The trainer should not be someone who frustrates easily, or shows their frustration to others.
• Excellent Work Habits (reliability, dependability)- A new employee is going to pay close attention to all that is going on around them. This will be the example for what is expected of them in their department and in their role. Having a trainer that is frequently tardy for work, has poor attendance, takes too many breaks, gossips with co-workers, etc. is not what you want your new employee exposed to. 
• Integrity- Your trainer needs to be someone who follows the processes and procedures as defined. Although everyone takes shortcuts from time to time, you do not want a trainer who is always finding ways to take the easy way out when it comes to fulfilling their job duties. A new hire should always be trained according to established procedures. If they want to develop shortcuts later, that is their choosing. 
• Confidentiality- Every new employee should have the benefit of working with a trainer who will maintain confidentiality, especially when it comes to their performance on the job.
• No Gossip Gurus- The last thing you need is a new hire who gets sucked into all of the gossip and drama going on in the department. They need to spend all their energy learning their role and responsibilities. You do not want ‘Drama Momma’ or the ‘Town Crier’ as your department trainer.
• Strong Technical Knowledge- Having someone who knows the process inside and out is important, but do not make the mistake of making your resident expert your trainer if they do not possess the qualities listed above. Remember...early impressions are absolutely critical to the success of your trainee.
• Strong Analytical Skills- Your trainer should be your assistant when it comes to actually preparing the department training plan. The trainer will need to be able to work closely with you to break down the processes within the department and outline them in a logical manner for training purposes. They will also need to be organized and able to prepare training materials that will help aid the new hire in learning their responsibilities. A trainer should be self sufficient, a self starter and someone who is able to work independently.

SUMMARY

Preparing for your new hire is absolutely critical for your employee’s success, as well as the success of the entire department. As most existing employees end up being stuck with the extra workload that comes with turnover, getting your new hire up to speed more quickly also helps alleviate the burden on the rest of your team. Having an effective new hire training plan sends a strong message to your team that you have their best interest in mind.

Getting your new hires up to speed is also critical for your own success. No boss wants to continue to hear excuses about things not getting done because of turnover. You must be responsible to fill your open positions in a reasonable amount of time, and get your new hires trained and working effectively in short order. The only way you will accomplish this is through effective planning and execution of your training strategy.

Tomorrow we will review what to include in a training outline to ensure all aspects of an employee’s role are thoroughly covered.