Can Your Business Afford Not to Have a Training Plan?
Hiring new staff is an exciting and demanding time for any business. Regardless of skills, prior training, or qualifications, hitting the ground running is rarely seamless.
Many small to medium businesses do not have a training plan. There are a number of reasons for this but does the cost of not having should a training outweigh the investment in a training plan that will act as a roadmap for the new starter and those mentoring and training?
How can a training plan help?
A training plan can be as simple as a folder on a shelf that gets pulled down when a new starter commences through to a comprehensive suite of training resources to be completed. From the moment onboarding commences the training plan is being used.
What a training provides is a structured roadmap to help onboard the new employee and have them integrated and invested into the business and quickly being productive. Training plans are an investment in productivity and sustainability
Setting the Scene
The letter of offer sets the whole scene for the culture of your business. Whilst there are the formalities such as pay and conditions that need to be covered, the onboarding process is crucial. Let the new employee know what they will expect on their first day.
• Who will greet them?
• What will they be doing?
If there is any reading they can do or online training prior to commencement, provide them with details of this and a point of contact if they need help.
Onwards and Upwards
From the moment the new employee walks through the front door they are an integral team member of your business, and you will want to bring them up to speed as quickly and effectively as possible.
This is where the training plan really kicks in. Sit down with the new starter and walk them through the training plan. This should roadmap their next few weeks and give them the confidence that after the probation period they have been given every tool to succeed.
What does good look like?
A training plan builds confidence in three ways by giving the employer, employee and colleagues knowledge and understanding showing them how to become a productive team member.
The training plan is not limited in length or scope or what it should cover. Common topics could include:
• Health and Safety relevant to the workplace
• Software or Equipment
• How to use it correctly
• Roles and responsibilities
• Business processes
• Culture
• Policies and Procedures
• Operational
• Human Resources
How this is delivered to the new starter is obviously dependent on the business and how it operates. But for success to happen sooner a plan should be put in place.
Formal Training or Mentoring
Both have an important place when onboarding and for continued operations and obviously the end decision is made based on how your business operates.
If time allows then formal training either facilitator led or online will provide an opportunity for detailed instruction, practice and even assessment to provide competence if required.
Mentoring can be more time consuming but more on the job the training may help with uptake of knowledge.
The best, if possible, solution is a blend of formal training and mentoring.
Success with Support
Your new employee wants to succeed, it is the nature of us all when we start a new job. We want to prove to ourselves the the employer and collegues that we earnt and deserve the role.
Providing tools for a new employee from the start will help. This could be a handbook as part of their welcome package which they can use as a reference or quick reference guidewhich they can quickly refer to.
How can Packer and Associates Help?
With over 20 years’ experience in learning and development Packer and Associates are ideally placed to help business of any size. We have worked with Small to Medium Enterprises across the country and large multinational resource companies. All with the same objective to develop sustainable solutions that will help business growth.
Contact us today at info@packerandassociates.com.au and let’s start the conversation to build a stronger, more sustainable and successful business.
