What are some best practices when training a new hire?

I love programs that empower the new employee to manage his/her onboarding process. As an example, a colleague created and implemented a pocket-sized, hardcopy booklet that resembled a passport that each new hire was given upon joining. Each page of the booklet was rich with questions that required the individual employee to complete by meeting with various individuals within the practice, business unit and HR and the page provided a spot for the answering individual to sign.

The tool also has process improvement assignments built in to it which aligned beautifully to the client's culture. We examined moving this tool online; however, much of the functionality was in the brilliance of being able to immediately launch the onboarding process with or without the proper technology (new hire laptop, internet accessibility, mobile phone, etc.) in place. Once completed, this content rich booklet was scanned by HR and saved in the employees file.

Sometimes simplicity is the best solution to some of our most complicated challenges especially when onboarding employees in various locations across the globe.

Please let me know if you are interested in learning more about this emplowering tool.

Kind regards,
Lori
President, DNL Global

So far these are very good answers. I can add that a mentoring / buddy process is a great way to bring a new hire up-to-speed in a new company.

The buddy should be a member of the hiring team (someone who had a yes/no decision). The buddy system builds teams, brings responsibility and accountability to the hiring and onboarding process as well as builds leadership skills for the mentors.

Mentoring should have a defined set of goals (enter the above mentioned passport for both parties), rewards, and a degree of empowerment for both sides. Being a mentor should be a highly coveted thing, one that all employees wish they could do.

I work in a Training Department currently and our process is called TMC which stands for Training, Mentoring and Certification (which incidentally is also the name of our department). The basis of the program is that we (the members of the TMC department) work with the manager to define what kind of training is needed in order to get the employee up to speed and able to work on their own. We put together a 90 day training plan (which covers everything they need to learn in the first 90 days) as well as an extended training plan which goes beyond the first 90 days and gives the employee structure for their first year with the company. (A side note: After the first year in the company, the employee works on their own and then with their manager to define their yearly goals after this).

After the training plan is in place, we set up the training they need to take. They attend the course and once they complete the course and pass the quiz, they are allowed to work on that task with an assigned mentor. The mentor is a person who has been deemed qualified to instruct and guide the newly trained employee. The mentor will complete our 'Mentoring completion form' when they feel the new employee is able to work on their own in a timely manner and to the satisfaction of the company's standards (each job has a checklist of things they need to be able to do).

Once our department receives the completed Mentoring Completion Form, we review the employees records and assign them the appropriate certification level in our database. We serve as all of the document holders for our division so if customer has questions we can answer them or send them certificates, etc.

Our program has been so successful, our corporate team has asked us to launch it throughout all divisions and globally. It has aided to our retention rates and overall customer satisfaction. It may take a little more time, but it is well worth it from the company's standpoint and our employees.