The right training can help make sure IT departments don’t miss a beat when new staffers are brought on board. Unfortunately, a lot can go wrong that will hurt the new hire’s productivity.  

Here are a few of the most common new hire mistakes:

1. Pairing the newbie with a busy mentor – Using an experienced staffer as a mentor for a new hire can be a great way to bring someone up to speed on the job and the company — unless the mentor is too busy to pay any attention to the new staffer. Make sure mentors can devote enough time to the task. Otherwise, the new person won’t learn anything and could even be turned off to the job.
2. Forgetting the basics – New hires have a lot to learn about the jobs they’ll be doing. That’s one reason why it can be easy to forget to explain the basic, yet important, stuff — for example, where the restrooms are, where people go for lunch, how to get supplies, etc.
3. Waiting for questions – Too many managers think telling new staffers, “Come to me with any questions,” is enough of a training strategy. Of course, people should be comfortable asking questions, but many times they haven’t learned enough to even know what to ask.
4. Thinking one size fits all – Not everyone learns the same way, so IT managers and trainers should be prepared to adjust their methods.

Have any tips on training new staffers? Share them in the comments section below.

Tags: new hires, tech staff, training