02-23-16So much effort goes into the search and selection process for a new employee. Now how do you help them get a quick start?

Scott, Sales Manager, for an industrial water works distributor in Portland, OR, told Session 9 of Turbo’s Leadership Development Lab (LDL):

“We recently hired a new North Oregon Regional Sales Manager for our water works business. We are fortunate to have him on our team. He has a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge about the water works distribution business. He didn’t need training in the nature of our business on products and custom requirements. However, he had no experience with our enterprise software system, which is understandable since he had never used our system prior to joining our company.

“Training on our enterprise software system can be overwhelming, and usually several people are involved in helping with the training over a lengthy period of time. Knowing that as a Sales Manager, he would want to know the details about order segments that had shipped the previous day, I asked him if I could train him on that aspect of the system. His answer was an enthusiastic “yes!”

“I used the Turbo 3-Step method of On-the-Job Training. First, I showed him how, by looking up the previous day’s sales on the system and carefully explained what I was doing as I went through each step. Second, I had him go through the same process himself on the system, as I explained each step of the process once again. Finally, he went through the exercise himself and explained to me what he was doing as he went along.

“The training was successful. He is now reasonably proficient at looking up the previous day’s shipments, and knows how to drill deeper to get more detailed and valuable information about the customer, any back orders, and other custom information when he needs it.

“The lesson I learned from this experience is that Turbo’s 3-Step On-The-Job Training process really works.

“The action I want you to take is to use the 3-Step training system when you have training to do: 1. Show as you tell. 2. Have them show you as you tell. 3. Have them tell you as they show you.

“The benefit you will gain is confident, well trained employees and colleagues who are more productive.

If your team members aren’t trained in the core competencies of their job, then there is very little chance you are going to compete successfully in the long-term, to be excellent, and move beyond the basics. Every team member should be engaged in job expansion training and then take the opportunity to go on to career expansion development.

  • Who on your team needs to know how to do something you could train them to do?
  • What do you need to teach them?

When will you take the time to teach them?