New Employees
Tips For Supporting New Employees to Learn
There are a few tips for supporting new employees to learn their new jobs: Create a robust communication plan, set realistic goals, and enlist mentors. Follow these steps and your new employee will be on their way to becoming a productive member of your team. After all, learning is more important than doing, right? Well, yes and no. Read on to discover more tips for supporting new employees to learn. You'll thank yourself later!Creating a robust communication plan
Communication plans have several important purposes in business, including instructing, persuading, and motivating new employees. These communications plan should contain a call to action that focuses on the specific objectives. Overlapping roles can cause delays and confusion. SMART goals can help you prioritize and achieve realistic objectives. Your communication plan should also include a timeline for learning, goals, and activities.
When creating a communication plan, keep in mind the information overload paradox. People are not able to process information unless they are organized, and most people have a hard time retaining information without a clear plan in place. Fortunately, there is a way to solve the problem: you can create a communication plan that addresses the Information Overload Paradox. Break down the plan into smaller themes and prioritize different types of internal communication. For instance, you should focus on high-priority information first. Use non-text, visual, and audio content whenever possible. And keep evaluating your communications regularly.
As part of your communication plan, you should identify internal employee audiences. By defining employee personas, you can create content tailored for your target audience. The goal is to increase engagement by personalizing messages for each persona. If you have a global workforce, you will probably have different groups of people from different countries, age groups, and backgrounds. In addition, your workforce is likely multi-generational and multi-lingual. Your communication plan should address these unique needs.Asking for feedback
When supporting new employees to learn in a new position, asking for feedback is essential. Feedback from colleagues is invaluable for identifying what's working and what needs improvement. If you want to get the most out of feedback, make sure to ask your manager or someone who is more experienced. It's also useful to ask people who are not directly involved with the new employee's development, as they may have different perspectives and ideas.
The feedback you receive is invaluable in tracking your performance, identifying upcoming risks, and recognizing unhelpful actions. This is why you should embrace feedback in all aspects of your professional life. You can ask for it in person or by email, but make sure to state your reason clearly. By doing so, you will get more responses. Moreover, requesting for feedback will make you more likely to be noticed by your colleagues.
Feedback is a two-way street. Managers should check in with new hires regularly to provide constructive feedback and instruction. This way, you can determine whether your new hire is progressing according to your company's values and expectations. Similarly, giving feedback to new employees early in their tenure will help them learn how to work in the environment, and will ensure that they feel supported and valued by their peers.Setting realistic goals
In order to ensure your learning and development program is effective, you should consider setting realistic goals for your employees. Your goal should be relevant and achievable, with a 90-day deadline and a clear purpose. For example, if you want your new employee to master a software program, set a goal that would help them perform better in their role. Your goal should be time-bound and also be based on skills that the employee will need to perform in their current role.
As an employer, you must promote a productive work environment that allows employees to develop and grow. When goal-setting is framed as a competition or contest among employees, it may backfire and negatively affect the work culture. Try to avoid creating a competitive environment by encouraging internal rivalry among employees, as it can lead to diminished morale and frustration. By following the SMART method, you can encourage your employees to set and achieve goals that are appropriate for their experience level and the company.
When setting your goals, always make them SMART (stretchable, attainable, relevant and time-bound). Assigning SMART goals is an efficient way to motivate your employees to learn. Your goals should be attainable, stretchable, not impossible, and aligned with the company's overall goals. You may want to set goals that are measurable by an outside agency, but you should also make sure your employees know they are achievable.Enlisting mentors
Enlisting mentors can be beneficial for a company looking to grow its new workforce. Mentors can help new hires get up to speed on the company's business strategies, as well as improve their job skills. Mentoring sessions should last an hour a week. These meetings should be meaningful and not just monthly checkboxes. Once a mentee is assigned a mentor, the process can begin.
The importance of selecting a mentor is often underestimated. Mentors should have experience in the area that the new employee is entering. They should have a clear understanding of the company's standards of behavior and be able to provide constructive feedback. They should also be able to demonstrate best practices such as communication. They should be able to communicate with the new employee and work well together. It is important to note that a mentor should not take over a new employee's job, as it is essential to both the new employee and the mentor.
The mentor must be selected according to specific criteria. The mentor should be a high performer in the trade or profession that the new employee will join. Ideally, he or she should be a peer and be well-regarded among current employees. In addition, the mentor should have good interpersonal skills and be proud of the company. A mentor should also be able to offer consistent feedback and recognize the success of the new employee.Creating a training program
Creating a training program for new employees must be a top priority. In addition to basic training, it should include cross-training, leadership development plans, and individual and team training. Using a learning management system can help track standardized training and track the progress of new hires. Creating a training program should also include access to online training resources. The training should be self-directed so that the new hire can complete additional training as needed.
Developing a training program for new employees should begin with an analysis of needs and goals. The training should address training gaps and objectives, not dictated by senior stakeholders. Identifying needs helps set milestones for employee training initiatives and determine which types of training are most useful and appreciated. By using this approach, you can also target training sessions based on the skills and knowledge needed by employees in different roles.
Once you've determined what the learning objectives are, create an outline and a training plan that addresses them. Once you've created your plan, review it with colleagues to check for clarity. Include any details such as testing technology, printing materials, and explaining expectations. Make sure your program has a clear end goal in mind before implementing any training program. Ultimately, you'll be able to implement the training program that meets your objectives and improve the company's bottom line.Creating eLearning
Creating eLearning to support new employees is vital to the success of your onboarding process. Rather than just showing them the building and a promotional video from the CEO, your onboarding program should introduce the culture of your company, the expectations of the job, and the corporate support that is available. Onboarding also covers administrative tasks and paperwork. In a world where one third of new employees quit their job within the first year, the right onboarding course is essential.
When creating eLearning courses for your employees, consider the age and type of your employees. Today's workers do not want to spend half of their day reading user guides. Instead, they prefer to access searchable indexes of training topics that match their jobs. They also prefer visual content, such as videos or screenshots demonstrating a process. Fortunately, eLearning courses are accessible on a computer or mobile device at any time and place, ensuring that everyone can learn from the comfort and convenience of their homes.
Lyft also implemented eLearning to support new employees. This solution was aimed at increasing sales in its EMEA region. The company developed several self-selected eLearning courses to introduce their team to their new products. After training their new team members, Lyft plans to record all-hands meetings and corporate events. A new company can never go wrong with eLearning. When launching a new product, you must make sure that you are ready to go with the best solution.Creating a team-building exercise
Creating a team-building activity to support new employees to learn can be challenging but highly effective. A puzzle activity can demonstrate different aspects of a team's work, including the way members communicate with one another. A quick exercise to assess teamwork and communication skills involves comparing team members to utensils. Choose a picture that everyone is familiar with, but has a lot of detail. Ask each team member to describe the other person in detail, focusing on what they have in common. Once everyone has done their part, compare the drawing to the original picture.
Split up the group into teams of three to six people. Then ask each team member to identify an interesting or surprising fact about the other person. This doesn't necessarily mean that they come from the same country or have the same hair color, but something about them that surprises the others. After everyone has contributed their information, the teams must discuss what their answers are, either individually or in groups. The larger the group, the more care and attention will need to be given to each team member's input.
When designing the exercise, consider the size and composition of the group. A 50/50 split with a single classification works well for small groups, but it's important to choose an exercise that's appropriate for the size of the group. If there are more than 20 people in the group, it's important to break them up into smaller teams. It is important to plan for a review/presentation stage, so participants can present their ideas and agree on a next step.
Reference:
https://paramounttraining.com.au/conflict-resolution-with-employees/