The Workplace Training Most Companies Overlook
Every business owner can agree that all employees need training of some sort. There are numerous rules and regulations that need to be adhered to for legal reasons but also they need to know how the company works and what is expected of them as an employee.
However, too much focus on certain areas can leave many aspects or areas of training uncovered and the result is things being missed, employees being exposed and standards falling well below where you want or need them to be.
Let's take a look at some training you absolutely need to have in place to support your employees and your company.
Onboarding Training
Handing someone a laptop and a login isn't onboarding no matter how much you might want it to be. It's simply a setup and gives no indication of what you want or need from your team a new employee needs to know.
A new employee needs to know who owns which decisions, how requests actually get approved versus what the org chart says they should and what a good first 30 days looks like and what you don't expect. Give them the practical details of the company and how you operate the things that help them get acquainted with the environment faster. Think about the thing that never actually make it into the official handbook and youve got your starting point. This removes the guesswork for people and helps them settle much faster.
Sexual Harassment Training
This one tends to be touched upon briefly and then left never to be mentioned again. The truth is you need something more structured and extensive and that most definitely happens more than once in a person's employment with you.
You need a structured sexual harassment training program that includes role specific modules since what a frontline manager needs to know differs from what HR needs to handle, etc. Have policies in place that reflect the legal framework and internal standards and policies you need to uphold, and then make sure that any behaviour is outside this is followed up on to ensure that people know that there are consequences. Detail all of this in your training so everyone knows what is expected of them and what happens when they breach the rules.
Soft Skills Training
Soft skills are just as important as hard skills and if your employees are lacking in soft skills they're going to struggle really quickly regardless of their position. A technically strong hire can still struggle to tell a client “no” in a way that doesn't damage the relationship or put boundaries in place with colleagues and other members of management. Or it might be they don't respond well to feedback or critique.
Understand the type of soft skills you need your team to be displaying and then introduce training that helps them develop and work through any issues they have or blocks. Not everyone is born a good communicator or able to handle rejection or negativity well. And if you understand this can help people overcome challenges you'll end up with a better team. Roleplaying in low-stakes environments can be beneficial here
PART II
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