Effective team training can be scary. You will have to spend hours upon hours going over information with your team. All with the thought your team member might leave before they’re fully trained… Or worse, they will leave once they’re trained and take their new skills with them.
First, let’s kill the negativity. Stop worrying about whether or not your team member will leave. There’s always the possibility a team member will move on.In all honesty, there’s something scarier than a trained team member leaving. That scarier thing is an untrained team member sticking around.
Know you and your organization will benefit from effective team training. An untrained team member will only bring your organization down.
With that out of the way, you have to create a process to train your team members that is effective, quick, and will stick with them. I’ve fallen in love with a recent 4 (or 5) step process of training. I think you will as well.
4 Steps To Effective Team Training
Take a look at the infographic below. The steps are outlined in the visual. I’ll also expand on the training process below the infographic.
1. Show Them:
The first step in this training process is to show them. This means you are taking the time out of your day to sit down with them and walk them through the process.
You are there to show them the correct way to carry out the task. You know the process because it is something you’ve done multiple times. You’re ready to take this task off your plate and delegate it to the team member who will take on the responsibility of this task.
Showing them may take multiple training periods. You may have to answer multiple questions. You may even have to create training videos using software such as Camtasia.
Whatever it takes, your first step in effective training is to show them.
2. Help Them:
Step two in the training process is to help them. Instead of you showing them, you will sit with your team member and walk through the process with them once more.
You will pass off control back and forth as you walk through the process together. There will be time for them to ask questions and get clarification on the process. You will be there to help them and guide them during this step.
3. Show You:
The first two steps have involved you helping the team member and showing them the actions they need to take. Now it’s time to move to the background and ask them to show you what needs to be done.
You will watch the steps they take to complete the process. You will watch them as they go through step by step and successfully complete the task.
This shows you they grasped the concepts you trained them on. They will be able to show you exactly what needs to be done and what needs to be done if something goes wrong.
4. Check In:
Many training programs go sideways because they miss this training step. People will train others and then step away without checking in.
You’re not that person. You know you will need to check in with your trained team members to make sure they are still following the process and completing the tasks to get the job done.
Create a check in process where you can observe the process after a month, two months, and three months. This will ensure they’ve understood the training and the process.
Bonus Step:
5. Step Back:
You’ve shown your team member what to do. You’ve helped them to understand the process and watched them do it. You have also had them show you the steps to complete the tasks. Last, but not least, you’ve created a check in process where you can see the process in action over time.
Now, you need to do one last thing. You need to take a step back and let your team members get to work.
You’ve trained them well. They’re highly capable team members. They’re going to do great.
This article originally appeared here, and is used by permission.