Managers, have you ever cautioned, warned, scolded, or had to re-train a new employee for the umpteenth time who developed a pattern of making workplace mistakes?
Impatience, annoyance, frustration, regret, or anger may have been emotions that some of you in leadership roles may have felt. However, if the employee finally caught on to the process, then you were most likely relieved, ecstatic, satisfied, or grateful especially if they positively impacted your job. How did you deal with the employee making the mistakes from the start and did what you do or not have a lot to do with why they are a success now? Most likely yes!
Every company has a routine or process that must be followed to get results. When new employees are not trained effectively or are left to manage process on their own, they are set up to fail. It isn't any wonder why some new hires will quit as soon as they start when they see there is no one or nothing that helps them perform their jobs successfully. In addition, they may not have felt welcomed from day one and unfortunately discovered that there were no tools prepared to help them do their jobs.
Some poor managers have dealt with workplace mistakes by doing the following: being overly critical, ignoring them because they plan on leaving their jobs, respectfully addressing them, or posting mistakes up in view as a way of shaming an employee into performing better. Depending on the personality of some workers, they will simply not catch on no matter what they are told or done to them.
Managers who were simply too impatient, too quick with explanations, short-tempered, or over-the-top during the training process, most likely were unable to keep anyone around long term whether the new worker was quick to learn or not. If you are looking to keep someone, you have got to be understanding about unintentional errors and willing to shell out some praise and appreciation when a new employee finally does things right.
People, who are already negative about their workplaces, should never be put in positions to train others, no matter how good they might be at their jobs. When a leader makes the mistake of doing that, he or she will suffer the consequences left behind by the old employee/trainer. The relationship with the new employee starts off being challenged, because he or she has been told much unflattering things about the leadership and coworkers. The new employee may not trust the manager, supervisor or coworkers who were not liked by the old employee. Sometimes if you want good training, you are going to have to do it yourself whether you would like to or not if there just so happens to be bad blood between you and others.
When it comes to a new employee making mistakes, a manager will need to remember the following:
1. Be patient. Remember someone had to be patient with you and fix your errors, so why not do the same?
2. Avoid talking unnecessarily to fellow coworkers about the new employees' errors. You may be creating division between workers from the start without even knowing it.
3. Demonstrate self-control regarding the joking and name-calling concerning a new employees' errors. You will come across as looking like a workplace bully even if you claim you meant nothing by your statements. A complaint made to the human resources team will be dealt with and will most likely mean something.
4. Never assume that a new employee knows everything about the job, the computer applications and more just because he or she has worked elsewhere using similar tools. Oftentimes, companies will customize certain applications to fit their specific environment; therefore, one may not be able to jump in right away and start working.
5. Make time to answer questions and avoid blowing an employee off during their time of need. No matter how you might feel about the questions and interruptions, keep in mind you want this employee to do a good job. Their work is not just a reflection of his or herself, but you as well as the team.
6. Don't rage in view while a new employee is still learning. You look mentally unstable and he or she will consider to leaving the job sooner rather than later. Who wants to work with a ticking time bomb, someone who you have to walk around on eggshells for fear they might freak out?
7. Keep personal conversation such as marriage, interests and hobbies to a minimum. With new employees, a first impression is a lasting one and if you get too personal, he or she may form a judgment about you that will be hard to dispel later on.
If you noticed from the information provided in this article, that much of what makes or breaks the training process is not with the new employee, but with the trainer who trains the new employee.
When we think about those who were good trainers, who might come to mind? What did they do that was quite helpful when they trained you? You might want to utilize some of those tactics. Training employees doesn't have to be a challenge, but it becomes one because some trainers simply don't want to follow wise counsel. Trainers' mistakes are what ultimately costs the company much money every time a new employee quits or is fired and has to onboard yet a new employee.
Nicholl McGuire is the author of What Else Can I Do on the Internet? and other books
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