GPI 079 – Vow to thoroughly train new hires; you are fully aware they initially know nothing.

When you hire new graduates, resolve to train them thoroughly.  You already should know they come clean as a slate so you will spend plenty of time with this rookie.  Do not add a new hire and then become disappointed when you discover they know nothing and you make a further mistake when you let them go.  You knew they were green when you hired them so why ruin the career of a new grad because you are not capable of training people?  Take the task seriously or let another adult handle this duty in your company.

Assign someone competent and patient to train new hires.  When you decide to hire a new graduate out of school, assign them to someone who will take lots of time with them.  Assign them to a supervisor who assumes this young person knows nothing, accepts the fact they most likely need constant guidance and prepping for at least 90 to 120 days.  New graduates do not have your company’s experience and will require more attention than someone with industry experience.  If you do not want that, do not hire them.

What new hires out of school provide to a firm is vital.  They bring new blood, new ideas that most of your managers forgot years ago and fresh approaches to problems that did not work previously but may work now.  Do not miss this opportunity of bringing in fresh talent who will be the company’s management in the future.

Choose a good and patient manager to train the young new hires.  Pick a person who will train those new hires well and look past their naïveté.  Invest in them and you will yield great rewards for your company.

Suggestions for training a new graduate:

1. Training schedules with deadlines:  Set written training schedules of tasks/skills with deadlines:  Acknowledge that the new hire lacks experience and you will train them —tell them this upfront to reduce their anxieties.
2. Detailed instruction:  Instruct your employees in detail with full documented instruction:  Tell them how to perform job tasks in detail; do not assume they come fully prepared with complete instruction for tasks required to be performed by your company.  Make them document all their tasks detailing their efforts in order so they may someday be able to teach their replacement as they are promoted.  Tell them this so they understand why they must understand their job thoroughly.  They will quietly appreciate your efforts and do a much more thorough job.
3. Assume nothing is known:  Teach your new hire all of the basics —assume nothing:  Teach your new hire about good punctual work attendance, properly answering the telephone, politely answering emails, opening mail, answering the telephone, responding to inquiries, evaluating their own job performance, understanding the company’s salary levels and review system, generating positive interaction with other departments and their managers, making all important deadlines, reporting company problems, how to handle roadblocks to completing their assignments and anything else that will probably go wrong that is listed on the job description of the new recruit.
4. Conduct frequent reviews:  Perform valuable reviews and provide thorough feedback:  Review the new hire’s job description in detail with him at least after 30 days and possibly 90 days.  Where his written job description is missing steps and valuable job description and cautionary comments, make him update this in writing not so much for the description itself but for the teaching that it does for the employee.

Refer to the description as to what are priorities in the job and duties assigned to the new hire.  Rewrite with the new recruit those job tasks that need to be modified, updated or eliminated.  Discuss with him where he believes he needs training.  Question his understanding and discuss why he needs to get up to speed in his department.