Training comes in all different shapes and sizes. There is technical training, interpersonal training, six sigma training, and many others. The goal of training and developing a candidate or employee is to be able to transfer the skills and knowledge you learn during training onto the job. A few things that I want to mention in this blog are two of my experiences around training, one that was very effective in training and one that was not.

After high school, I was allowed to work at a seed warehouse where I would help clean, organize pallets, and blend grass seeds. The experience was unique because I was brought in by a friend’s dad. I was never interviewed or given a job description. Most of my training and orientation were on hands. Meaning that as time went on I was trained and oriented only when I encountered different obstacles and challenges on the job. Which to me was normal because in my father’s restaurant it was the same there was no real structure. And I am aware that these family-owned businesses don’t always have the same resources that larger companies do. But I think this was an easy example of non-effective training because there was no way I could have measured or evaluated whether the training I received at the beginning was able to transfer on the floor. Simply because I never got the training that I needed at the beginning. An article by the the Harvard Business Review “Your New Hires Won’t Succeed Unless You Onboard Them Properly” explains that studies have shown that companies lose 17% of their new hires in the first three months. Which I can testify to be true during my time there new hires would only last a month or two before calling it quits. Had they created a manual, pamphlet, or videos where new hires could have learned, and then been tested on it? I think could have resulted in a slightly more effective training.

During my time at Lowe’s Inc, I was vetted more on the duties and objectives of the company during the start, mostly during my orientation. I would most certainly say that Lowe’s HR Team has a more structured process. Before I even began my journey with Lowe’s I was interviewed. Once I passed the interview process the hiring group was forced to watch presentations on safety, and the different types of equipment we would be using. They also made sure to inform us what made them different, and what their main objective was for us. Once the time in the classroom was done, we spend several days shadowing other employees and certifying us on equipment. But also that we understood the skills and knowledge required to perform our tasks on the floor. It was a 2-week process of orientation and training and tests before they allowed us to even step on the floor and work. After a month of work, we were told that we would be evaluated to determine whether our training was successfully and safely transferred into the workplace. Safety was their biggest emphasis. And the evaluation of training did not stop after the month they told us that they would check back in 6 months, and then again next year. I think this was a great example of an organization that has the resources and capability of creating an effective training and development system.

Citations

Ellis, A. M., Nifadkar, S. S., Bauer, T. N., & Erdogan, B. (2020, November 3). Your new hires won’t succeed unless you onboard them properly. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2017/06/your-new-hires-wont-succeed-unless-you-onboard-them-properly