Need an Extra Hand? Train One.
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Ever feel like your day is incredibly busy and you could use one more set of hands in the office? Or another technician to support the general repair work you’ve recently started advertising?
Sometimes it’s hard to even stop and think about making the time to hire and train a new employee.
I recently felt this exact way and had to stop & make myself look through piles of resumes to fill two positions in our expanding ETE family. It was difficult for me to focus on this type of project with my typical day-to-day responsibilities on the sales floor, but I know it will be worth it once they are fully trained and ready to take on their own work stations. What’s my training plan? And how can it help you?
- Set realistic expectations. New employees are excited to start and ready to take the bull by the horns, right? Funnel that energy into a plan for their training. It’s a great idea to sit down with them on their first day and discuss the type of training activities you have planned and a general timeline for their progress.
- Lead by example. On the ETE sales floor, we have stages of training for a new rep. Watching and listening to a seasoned veteran from your team is a great way to convey their expertise and passion to a new employee in hopes they will grasp on and follow suit! This begins cultivating a team environment where questions are welcomed.
- Make mistakes. I am a full believer in doing. Getting your new addition’s hands involved in training before you unleash them translates the good examples they’ve seen into solid retention. We like to set up a phone where a more experienced rep is talking to the customer, and our new rep listens in and works the computer system hands-on along with the call.
- Keep everyone on the same page. Have weekly meetings with your new addition to gauge learning and ask for feedback. Continue these after their first month, on an as-needed basis, and at least quarterly to set goals and evaluate performance. After getting their feet wet, they may have a great idea that would impact an aspect of your business. Embrace their passion, and give them the opportunity to pitch it!
- Engage your newbie with the team. If you go through a seasonal period or have several transitional hires, schedule team building activities during your team meetings. We did the game version of the TV show “Minute to Win It” a few weeks ago and broke the ice between more than one department- and had a blast.
Your phone is ringing, a customer is waiting in your lobby, one of your team is asking you a question, and your inbox keeps filling up. Been there? Kentucky Fried Sales Chick Megan Pierce has. So, she paused. And found some help. Could you use an extra hand, too?
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