How to Establish a Training Program For Your Small Business

When you ask many savvy small businesspeople what their most important asset is, they’ll respond “people.” Yet, many small businesses have no formally allocated training budgets, a vital step needed to not only retain but to attract good employees.

Most employees simply don’t work out. Good training begins before a person is hired.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 

   Write up an accurate job description
   Every position should have a job description, ideally written by the person now employed in that position, verified by her supervisor. A good job description includes: the purpose of the job, a detailed breakdown of responsibilities, whom the employee reports to, ways to measure the employee’s effectiveness, how the person will spend her time, her authority within the company and what skills and experience are required.
   
   When the time comes to replace that employee due to promotion or attrition, that job description is the key to your interviewing process. It will determine the initial questions the recruiter should ask.

2. Begin a training program on day one.
   Once a person is hired, s/he should immediately begin a ninety day training program, that is structured, systematized and in place. When I first started work at the Broadcast Store, more than twelve years ago, my first couple of days consisted of sitting at the computer working with the data base doing bogus entries until I proved my competence. As eager as I was to get to work, my trainer refused to let me talk to a client until I passed certain competency tests. My entries would in short order cause the service, accounting, and shipping departments to all spring into action. Mistakes on my part would have caused needless grief. I soon acquired the skills I needed and worked there for several years.

3. Create a Comprehensive “How to Manual”
   When I became the Director of Sales at Lightning Media, one of the first items on my agenda was to put together a thorough detailed step by step break down of every step in the sales and order taking process.
   
   Let’s contrast that with the two television stations where I’ve worked. The first paired me with a mentor for a couple of days before I started writing the news. Still there were myriad examples of things I simply did not know and was never told. Fully two years after starting work there I had one of the managers complain that I didn’t know how to properly enter a crew request in the situationer because the information I had supplied didn’t meet her standards.
   
   At the other station, I showed up on day one to work as a cameraman and wasn’t told until after I had completed shooting that lunches were unpaid and that as a non-union station it didn’t pay time and a half for overtime. Out of fairness to you employees, everything should be spelled out in your manual.

4. Establish Your Expectations Up Front
   Formally establish a 90 day probationary period. This is where most of the attrition will occur. You can save your budget, but not initiating any benefits until after this time frame.
   
   For your employee, you should establish clear, demonstrable competencies met within defined time frames. Each new hire should be paired with a mentor, a peer and a manager for support. During the probationary period, your new hire should be given weekly feedback. New hires should be directed where to ask questions.
   
   These three months are not just an introduction to the technical of the new hire’s job. They are an introduction to your company’s culture and how you do things. It’s a time to cultivate group identification and alignment with your organization’s values as presented in your business plan.