The Importance Of Training

By Alvin Mason

One of my biggest concerns with American Business is the lack of priority put on training new employees today. In many instances a new employee is put in a position with little or no training.

You can see from position descriptions that organizations ask for people who can do the job from day one. Very seldom do you see the words willing to train the right person. The most qualified person still needs to be orientated to the way an organization does things.

How an organization or manager could be willing to let an employee represent their company without training or orientating them to the day-to-day aspects of a new position is unbelievable. If I am responsible for a person's actions or inactions, then you better believe I will show them how I want certain things done.

You see the lack of training everyday in employees who interact with the public. How many times have you been waiting for service and no one even acknowledges your presence? How many times has an employee answered the phone incorrectly? How many employees understand customer urgency?

Training is more than watching a video and/or answering questions. Training should be a way to assure or improve a new employee's chance of success. Training will also show a new employee that the organization cares about accomplishing their stated objective. The lack of training is one reason many employees fear asking questions.

A training program should be organized to cover all areas of responsibility. A training program should include customer interaction, learning the technology, and the specific functions of the position.

The person training a new employee should be a manager or trainer. When a person is trained by another employee (crew member) many important aspects of the job routine are lost or left out of the instruction.

The trainer should have understanding of the position and have knowledge of daily routines, as well as answers to foreseeable questions.

An effective training program will give the new employee knowledge and encouragement. A well trained employee is a valuable resource for any organization.

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