Thursday, February 07, 2008

Train Wreck!

When new employees are hired one of 3 methods of training will occur. 

• The old employee is already gone, and a manager or co-worker will attempt to train the new employee.  Of course, the manager doesn’t have the time, and the co-worker may be inept. 

• The employee that is leaving will train the new employee, and is so buried in work (the reason they are leaving in the first place) that there is practically no succession training.

• Or, the employee that is leaving will train the new employee, but their heart is not up to the task, as they can’t wait to get out of there!

Add to that, if there is any documentation (doubtful), it’s probably been lost or at best very outdated.

The result is that as time goes by staff becomes less and less efficient and is prone to making mistakes.  They become disenchanted with their job and quit.  This problem compounds itself with each new generation of employee.  Training equals satisfied employees and a job well done!

Responsible companies plan for ongoing, professional training for their staff, either by bringing in someone from the outside (Developer or VAR), or they have their own in-house training staff. 

Having someone on staff that is thoroughly trained on the software and who possesses teaching skills (something often overlooked) is the best solution.  It is far cheaper to train the trainer than to bring someone in on-site.  Or, even more expensive, send the employees to some remote training facility.  A side benefit of hiring your own trainers is that new employees will receive prompt and thorough training, and problems or questions can be managed timely as needed. 

Data shows that mandatory training has increased employee efficiency and reduced worker’s comp claims.  Sadly, company shortsightedness hasn’t brought those lessons into the general office environment.  Training your employees avoids a Train Wreck!