How to Fit Training into Your Production Schedule: Part 1

Scatter the training over several days or weeks. This will allow new hires time to become competent in one learning area before moving onto the next. It may mean a slightly slower time to competency, but the savings in terms of retraining costs is worth it.

Importance of Consistency and Context

If your onboarding process is haphazard, it lacks quality control. Some sessions will be excellent, others will be dismal. Any new hire who happens to arrive on a dismal day is guaranteed to have significant learning gaps. Schedule food safety training along with other job-specific training, as well as general company onboarding.

If your onboarding programs lack context, you are probably checking off the training box without realizing any true behavior changes. Telling employees that they must not walk between the raw and processed sections of the facility is a good directive; not telling them what could happen if they do and why it is so important to the business is a bit like telling people not to go swimming in the lake without telling them that there are leeches in the water.

Who Should Deliver the Training

If it is in your budget to hire professional trainers, then by all means do so. For those whose budget is less generous, onboarding training can be done in-house or in combination with professional trainers. Two keys to success are as follows.

1. The training must be properly designed with attention paid both to the accuracy of the content and the pace of the program. It should be built following adult learning principles that provide active learning opportunities and plenty of time for practice. Lectures were rarely successful at teaching us in our school days. They are no more successful today.
2. The training must be delivered by competent people. This means people who are not only knowledgeable of the topic, but who have had some grounding in the craft of training. Expertise in a subject is not enough—in fact, experts are often very poor onboarding trainers because they simply cannot chunk the information into simple, easy-to-understand lessons. It is not an understatement to say that the success of a training program can rest with the quality of the trainer.

Determining Competence

The proof of training is in the doing. When an employee demonstrates proper food safety practices, you know the training has been successful. There are, however, levels in the assessment process that can help determine competence.

• Level one is a check for understanding: Has the employee learned the information? Most companies use quizzes to test for this, though a one-on-one discussion is often more useful at uncovering misconceptions.
• Level two looks at ability: Can the employee perform a task as demonstrated? Watching someone do the work in their natural work setting is the best test for this level.
• Level three assesses attitude: Does the employee believe what you have taught and recognize its importance? This can be evaluated by listening to a new hire explain concepts or, as in level one, by having a conversation.

Think of when you learned how to drive. The first step was the written exam to prove you knew the rules of the road. The second was a road test to show your skill behind the wheel. The third is one you demonstrate each time you choose not to drink and drive.

And of course, it goes without saying that any training must be fully documented. After all, if it isn’t written down, it didn’t happen.

Finally, a successful onboarding program requires frequent follow-up to make sure new employees understand their jobs, know where to go for help, and are integrating with the team. It takes a long time to become a part of a new culture. Be patient, and give your new hires the support they need over the first few months on the job.