Training Trainers: Employee Orientation On-Boarding

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Any small business owner will tell you, one of their most time-consuming activities is hiring and training new employees. Interestingly, owners rarely conceive of giving that task to someone else. In fact, training trainers on all processes, such as employee orientation on-boarding, is just not on an owner’s radar.

As a result, not systematically delegating mundane activities, robs an owner’s freedom.

A common misconception circulated in the business world is, “Training Trainers is for big boy businesses; not for small companies or start-ups.”

Folks, we’re in constant communication with small businesses all over the world; listening, coaching and encouraging owners and managers through their latest trials and tribulations. We never grow tired of hearing about and sharing solutions for their struggles; whereby, we all continually improve. Sadly, some owners never reach out for help; therefore, they keep stepping in the same pile of manure and spreading smelly chaos around to others in their business.

Others waste time trying to reinvent the wheel, while solutions that could save them years of struggle are right at their finger-tips. As a result, most small business owners stay chained to the mundane and bogged down in daily operations. Moreover, they remain frustrated and become burned-out.

The Road to Freedom is Training Trainers

I will demonstrate using Employee/New Hire Orientation.

The Usual Method for Employee Orientation On-boarding in Small Business

Hiring and training a new employee usually goes something like the following:

The new employee…

• Spends around 10 minutes with the owner, if they're lucky;
• Receives a wrinkled, out-of-date Job Description, if the owner can find one;
• Spends a few minutes giving their personal information to the bookkeeper for payroll purposes;
• Is introduced to a few other employees, and shown where restrooms are located;
• Is informed who the go-to person is when they need anything (generally, that go-to person is completely surprised and not too thrilled);
• Finally, a manager says, “Welcome to our wonderful company … now go fish!”

As a result, this “mom & pop” approach to employee orientation on-boarding advances at a snail’s pace, leaving major gaps in the new hire’s training.

Why does this silliness continue in most small businesses? Many owners and managers simply don’t know how to Train Trainers, much less delegate processes, systematically!

Training Trainers is a ROI Bonanza

So, where does a business owner start delegating systematically?

Simply start at the beginning! Sit down and write a step-by-step, prompt-by-prompt checklist for employee orientation on-boarding, as I did. OR … continue using the usual method I mentioned above. In other words, DON’T bother with a system for orientation, just throw the new hire out there and see if they make it.

The problem with not having a system is … what would take ONLY three or four hours to on-board and orient a new hire, systematically, will take at least a year without a system.

Why? Simply because, the new hire must orient THEMSELVES to a company. Consequently, finding the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and HOW is a lengthy trial and error for the new hire!

Warning! This kind of disorganization opens the door for new hire frustration, while constantly asking others for direction to perform their job. You know what happens when you ask several different people in the company for answers, you will get that many DIFFERENT answers.

At which point the new hire may quit, and the madness starts all over again with a new hire.

Employee Orientation On-boarding System | Free Download

A good orientation system consists of…

New Hire Orientation On-boarding Checklist. These are all the prompts to assure an orientation has NO gaps, and the new hire hits the ground running. Results: hundreds of hours saved.

New Hire Orientation Materials Checklist. This is a complete list of all materials and documents needed to give a full orientation.

A New Hire Orientation Test. This is to assure the new hire understands what’s expected of them from day one.

Profile of the Ideal Employee. A list of characteristics of the ideal employee for any type business.

The New Hire Orientation Additional Information. This is information a New Hire should receive via a well-formatted Document or Video. For example: History of the company, company events and stories to inspire. Most importantly, the owner’s VISION for the company, etc.

We provide these and many other documents to our System100 clients, saving them months and even years of meticulous, painstaking work. Speaking of work …

Did I mention? Great systems work!