The number one thing you are paying for as a business is your talent. Without talented employees, you can’t do the business you advertise on the market. But raw talent isn’t enough. You have to effectively train your employees to produce content that is up to your standards. 

In this article we will cover the four steps to effectively train people.

Step 1: The Calendar

Before training even begins you must have a calendar laid out for the on-boarding process. This gives the new employee a detailed timeline of their training process. They know what to expect to learn each day and can prepare themselves ahead of time. 

Having a detailed calendar avoids ambiguous training and the negative results that come from ambiguity. It leads to stress on the employee to try and understand things alone. Stress and ambiguity lead to lower performance and a loss in money and productivity. The training process and timeline should be as clear as possible.

The Training

If you are trying to train each one of your employees in-person by yourself, stop right now. That is not productive for you or them. Instead you can build a training curriculum that includes SOPs, videos, and training guides.

SOPs will teach trainees the basic process for completing tasks in your company, but training guides and videos should teach them the thinking and decision making process that you want to see in team members.

Teaching How to Think

You want to be able to rely on and trust your employees to make the right decisions on their own. When building a training guide, it is important to slow down and break down your thinking process as a successful team member.

A great way to do this is to start with a top decision that can go one of two ways. Talk through your thought process on how to approach and make the right decision for the company. You want the trainee to understand how to go about decision making in ways that align with company thought. Teach them the concept of how to think in the company.

Practice & Application

The most important part of any training process is the practice and application of the new material. When learning something new, the brain forms new synaptic connections. However, without practice and application of the new concepts, those synaptic connections do not grow stronger and eventually break.

The more practice a trainee can have, the stronger their connections will grow. The practical application of the training should be consistent. Practice immediately after the concept is taught. Practice at the end of the training day. And then practice 2 to 3 more times throughout the week.

One of the best ways to have low-stakes training practice is to use yourself as the client. Have the trainee create the content and use the new concept for your business. This way you can check their work and  it doesn’t cost you any money if they make an error.

Audit & Feedback

Something that most businesses forget during the training process is to regularly audit team members. The training period can be a lot of information to take in at once, and long-term team members may forget the training they had years before. 

Regular auditing and feedback on team member performance can help strengthen your company performance. Simple reminders on policy and procedures helps create standardization and tweak up those who may be lacking performance. Auditing should continue throughout an employee’s time in your company.

Want to Learn More?

Interested in learning more about effective training tools and procedures? Our team is ready to help guide you and your business growth into the 8-figures. Schedule your free consultation today!