Brandon W. Jones

One major problem I have seen with the fire happy leaders is that they don’t properly train their employees.  These leaders don’t give their employees the proper training from the very beginning and then they expect them to know more than they should.  All the employees must be trained on the following:

1. The company policies and procedures
2. The responsibilities specific to their department
3. The responsibilities specific to their job title.

The Company Policies and Procedures  In many of the large corporations that exist, there is a specific set of training sessions that every employee must go through when they are hired.  As a part of the training session, HR or some other department reviews all the policies and procedures of the organization.  This is very important because this training teaches the employees what they can and can’t do within the organization.

The Responsibilities Specific to Their Department  Each employee is hired into a specific department with specific requirements on how things are to be done.  In order for a new employee to have success within the department, they must know what those specific requirements are.  When they do not know them, it is very difficult to do their job properly.  As the leader trains the employee on the department specific tasks, they can then become more efficient at their job.

The Responsibilities Specific to Their Job Title  The most important of training is that which pertains to the employee’s specific job title.  Once employees are trained on their specific responsibilities, they know what they are expected to do on a daily basis.  When it comes to training employees, leaders should not expect to just train the employee within an hour or two and then send them on their way to be on their own.  The leaders must verify that the employee fully understands what is expected of them and then be willing to answer questions on an as needed basis. 

Although proper training does not guarantee an employee will be successful, it sets them on the right path by helping them to fully know and understand what is expected of them.  From there they should be able to ask questions of their leader to further clarify their responsibilities when needed.

If you are a leader and you feel like some of your employees have not been properly trained, now is a great time to start.  As you begin to train your employees, be sure to document the training so you can keep track of who has what training and when they received it.

How have you successfully been able to successfully train your employees?