Hit a Home Run with Your New Hire Training Plan

No three strikes here. Companies only get one chance to make a first impression and ensure a new hire’s onboarding experience is valuable. A key element of employee onboarding is creating and consistently using an impactful new hire training plan. Thoughtful and comprehensive training plans set up the employee and employer for immediate and continued success.

Organizations that focus on employee training benefit from increased employee engagement, productivity and retention. Training allows the Company to showcase its culture and values while driving strategic alignment. Concurrently, training plans allow new hires to quickly learn Company processes and expectations while forming relationships with fellow employees. This is what most would consider a “win-win”!

Training plans should be individually tailored to the Company and the new hire’s position. When creating the plan, consider the following key elements to really hit home:

• Get input and buy-in from both leadership and peer employees. There is no one that has a better perspective on the new hire training plan than an employee that was recently hired! It is imperative that all parties contributing to a new hire’s training are fully invested in the process and outcome.
• Ensure each planned activity is relevant and rewarding for the new hire. Training should be job specific and purposeful.
• Put the training plan in writing!
  • This may seem basic, but many employers do not provide written training plans to new hires.
  • Best practice includes sending the training plan to the new hire prior to his or her first day. It is awesome to see that some new hires take initiative to research certain things before they punch in for the first time.
  • Stick to the plan. Structure provides a level of comfort to new hires and adhering to the plan shows the Company’s investment in its employees.
• Keep the team talking. Foster conversations between new and current employees, as well as leadership, in order to keep open channels of communication and drive continuous improvement of the overall training and onboarding experience.

Every new hire presents a unique opportunity to knock the onboarding experience out of the park. Implementing strategic training plans and ensuring they are a consistent component of onboarding directly translates to long-term success for both the employee and the Company.

For additional information or assistance on creating and implementing purposeful new hire training plans, please reach out to EctoHR, Inc. at 810-534-0170 or hr@ectohr.com.