Three Things You Must Teach New Hires

Taking the right approach to training and onboarding your new hires is one of the most important things you can do as an employer, no matter what industry.

The right guidance from the outset is crucial to enabling employees to excel in their roles and make valuable decisions within the company. 

In today’s rapidly changing work landscape, employees are increasingly conscious of the need to keep their skills sharp. Recent studies have shown that almost 40% of workers are concerned that their skills may become outdated quicker than ever before, with nearly half saying they wouldn’t know where to even begin when it comes to sharpening up their skills.  

For business leaders, the training focus for new hires should not only provide employees with insight into the business, but it should also centre around essential soft skills that can help shape your employees' future. This way, employees feel empowered to take control of their careers and know how to set themselves up for success. 

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Right now, your team needs help mastering the vital skills that will shape their future with your company. Here are the three biggest skills to teach your employees:

Setting Goals

Goals serve as a compass, providing direction and guidance in any career path. Research from Harvard Business School indicates that employees who successfully visualise and record their professional goals often achieve 20% greater success. 

During the onboarding process, show your employees what success realistically looks like from a goal-setting perspective, providing an understanding of how your company’s values and expectations tie into this. Additionally, run through the different types of goals needed to succeed, such as: 

• Short-term objectives: Defined as accomplishments that take 3 months to a year to complete.

• Define what you expect them to achieve during the first few months in their role and invite them to share their own objectives for this time.

• Long-term ambitions: Usually completed in 3 to 5 years, or longer.

• Explore where they see themselves in the future, whether it's getting a promotion, a higher salary, or other career milestones. 

• Professional development goals: Short- and long-term benchmarks that encourage career growth, increase productivity, and support your personal and professional interests.

• Together, identify areas where they want to enhance their skills, whether in work or personally, and discuss future training opportunities that could support their growth.

Additionally, provide valuable tips to improve their chances of successfully attaining their goals. Discuss the distinction between setting realistic and overly ambitious targets, and explore strategies to help them maintain focus, such as working with a mentor or holding regular progress meetings.

Relationship-Building 

Strong relationships within a team are the cornerstone of good company culture. Research shows that positive connections between employees, managers, and colleagues lead to higher job satisfaction, increased retention, and improved productivity. 

However, many employees struggle to make meaningful connections with their teammates. During the initial onboarding process, introduce your new team members to the individuals they will be working with. Teambuilding activities can be highly beneficial at this stage to help break the ice and foster a sense of teamwork.

Next, offer guidance on strengthening relationships with colleagues and managers, such as:

• Being proactive in offering assistance

• Employees who actively seek opportunities to support and help their team members are more likely to be appreciated and valued.

• Participating in meetings

• While not all meetings may be mandatory, many provide valuable opportunities for networking and communication. During meetings, encouraging employees to contribute provides a greater sense of teamwork and collaboration, and in turn, will become a natural process.

• Developing emotional intelligence

• Train employees on recognising and understanding the emotions of others, enhancing their ability to build meaningful connections.

• Fostering continuous communication

• Create a culture of continuous communication and collaboration, where everyone feels included.

• Networking whenever possible

• Allow team members to attend events and networking opportunities to expand their professional connections and improve their communication skills.

Also, implement a diversity, equity, and inclusion policy that outlines the importance of respect and acceptance among team members. If any employee appears isolated or displays a negative attitude toward others, address the issue promptly.

Productivity 

All employers want a team of productive, efficient, and engaged members. While providing the right technical training and tools will enhance productivity, employees must also take proactive steps themselves, so encouraging this from the outset is so important. 

When your new hire begins, introduce them to various methods for boosting productivity, such as:

• Task prioritisation

• Some employees may prefer tackling the most challenging tasks first, while others may start with easier tasks and work their way up to difficult challenges. Encourage them to discover their own approach.

• Taking regular breaks

• While striving for productivity is important, everyone needs to recharge. Allow employees to step away from their schedules occasionally to come back with a fresh mindset.

• Single-tasking

• Teach employees that multitasking is rarely the most effective way to achieve great results. Breaking large tasks into smaller pieces and working on them one at a time is so much more productive.

• Energy management (not just time management)

• Empower employees with the autonomy to adjust their work schedules according to when they have the highest levels of focus and energy. For example, if one of your employees works best in the morning, encourage them to focus on their most important tasks during this period. 

• Leveraging productivity tools

• Certain tools and technologies can assist with productivity, such as time-tracking applications or project management systems.

If any employee struggles with productivity, address the issue and identify the underlying cause. The challenge could be related to their schedule, energy levels, or early signs of burnout. 

Teaching these three core goals is crucial for any employee and business to succeed and progress throughout their career.