1. You’re wasting time covering stuff they already know

Have you ever sat through training where you already knew how to use the platforms that were being presented to you? As the person responsible for training, avoid this at all costs!

Your goal is to present the most amount of value in the shortest amount of time.

A quick conversation or a questionnaire can be sent to the new hire to determine what needs to be touched upon during training. This also helps you to set up what is going to be talked about during the training session.

2. You’re not using the right training media

These days, training can be done at the learner’s pace and delivered through a variety of different mediums.

• Videos
• Pros: Holds attention and can be more interactive.
• Cons: Making videos take up the most time.
• Example: One of the easiest ways to create a training video is by using Loom Screen Recorder, which comes as a free browser extension, and allows you to record how you do something as you’re doing it and voicing over the directions. Once you complete your videos, you can simply embed them into Trainual Subjects assigned to relevant roles.
• Photos
• Pros: Can work towards more visual learners and images can lighten up the amount of text needed.
• Cons: Can be less detailed or the new hire can be lost on certain concepts.
• Example: One of the best ways to utilize photos as training documentation is to create an infographic explaining how to do a certain task and if you use a service like Design Pickle, creating and adding infographics to your library of training materials is easy!
• Text
• Pros: Can be more detailed and heavy on information.
• Cons: Can be text-heavy and lose the attention of the new hire.
• Side Tip: Can loosen up the text-heavy content by adding in an audio reader.
• Example: NaturalReader allows for commercial use and can be easily embedded into your Trainual Subjects.
• Tests
• Pros: Can draw more conclusions on the candidate based on job performance and identify the best candidates.
• Cons: Need verification that the tests are valid and consistent so that your company does not violate any federal/state laws or discriminate against those with disabilities that affect their test-taking abilities.
• Example: When using Trainual, you are able to create tests within your Subjects. This allows you to make sure that the new hire is paying attention to the training content and reassure you that you picked the right candidate for the job!

Every training session is going to be different so it is up to you to utilize the best forms of media so that the new employee can get the optimal knowledge needed to succeed in their position.

3. You’re not motivating the new hire

Don’t let the workers' efforts go unsupervised! Training is a big deal and should be celebrated!

People are easily overwhelmed when it comes to training and can go into it with a negative attitude from the start, if you don’t inject positivity and excitement early on. It’s up to the company to make training as fun and motivational as possible.

When new hires go through training at Trainual (using Trainual of course), the moment a subject module is finished, a notification is sent to the whole team channel on Slack, and let’s all the other employees congratulate the new hire for completing their training.

This small amount of appreciation encourages workers to continue to train and feel immediately part of the larger group. This opens up the work floor so that the new hire feels comfortable asking questions and begins to feel accepted into the company.

4. You’re not asking for feedback

Don’t be scared of feedback! You might not like hearing what you can improve upon but it’s necessary to guarantee that future trainees are not burdened by the same easily fixable mistakes.

Feedback is key to improvements and can show what needs to be changed, such as what topics need to be more visual or need more text to explain. Create questions or a survey to put at the end of the training to take the pulse on how things are going and how well people are learning the material.

5. You’re not collaborating with others

When creating training content, there should be multiple people from each department working together. This allows experienced employees to add notes or quick tips that can be useful for new hires and allows for a more comprehensive knowledge pool as your build your company’s operating manual.

Collaborative content in the system helps prevents the chance of confusion if the manager directly responsible for training is absent and the new hire is unable to get their questions about their role or responsibilities answered immediately.

6. You’re giving them too much at once

Being brand new to a job or position is stressful enough and learning everything to be adequately trained adds on even more stress. Putting too much on the new hire’s plate can cause confusion and result in forgetfulness.

Our suggestion is to break the training up into segments based on tiered importance. When using Trainual, you can use Zapier to automate assigning a new Subject once another is completed.

This eliminates assigning too much all at once and overwhelming the new employee. Then as the week carries on, the new hire can go through training Subjects at a pace that allows them to fully understand everything.

7. Your training is boring

When naming your Subjects, create eye-grabbing, interesting titles that stimulate the workers' mind. Think of it like naming Buzzfeed articles for internal information.

For example, if you’re setting up a module about filling out timesheets to get paid, don’t label it “Time Sheet Paperwork”, instead try “How You Get Paid!”

“Timesheet Paperwork” sounds boring while “How You Get Paid!” captures the employee’s attention and they’ll be more likely to engage with the material and learn the proper way to fill out their timesheets… why? So they can get paid!

What happens when you correct your mistakes

If you’re conscious about correcting these 7 training mistakes, not only will your new hires be the best-trained employees you’ve ever had but they will be the happiest employees you’ve ever met.

New innovative ideas will flow into your office at a faster pace than ever before, and with the reduction of time and money spent onboarding, your business can meet goals that previously took months in just weeks.

And if you are having difficulty correcting these mistakes, or just need some guidance, you can always contact Trainual for best practices using our software.