The way a company trains its employees, especially new ones, says a lot about that organization’s culture and vision. Recently, Business News Daily Managing Editor Nicole Fallon Taylor asked managing partner Melissa Cohen to describe Metis’ training approach for new team members. Melissa shared why the company focuses on active, hands-on learning through shadowing rather than expecting a new hire to pick up the information she needs to be successful from static notes. Melissa also noted that ongoing communication between employees helps ensure that new hires and team veterans are working together openly and productively from Day One - whether they’re sitting inside the company headquarters or in a remote office.
"The shadowing process allows trainees to retain information better by applying learned skills in real time and translating them to their daily tasks," said Cohen. "It also helps new team members experiment with responsibilities in a controlled environment without risk, all while building their confidence."
Melissa and other business leaders, including Kathy Theissen, vice president of franchise operations at 101 Mobility and Fred Mouawad, CEO of Taskworld, discussed why an environment structured to facilitate flexibility and continued learning through engagement can benefit executives and entry-level employees alike. By turning training into what Melissa calls an ongoing discussion, companies invite feedback about which methods are effective (and which aren’t working), employees’ personal preferences, and strengths and weakness for both trainers and trainees. As a result, onboarding becomes more of a useful tool than a hurdle for new hires to jump.
Of course, strong leadership is necessary to help training methods catch on: “you can have the most interesting and engaging training methods available, but if your company’s leadership doesn’t buy into it, your new employees won’t, either.” Click over to Business News Daily to learn why Metis leadership encourages employees to discuss issues, ask questions, participate in Bagel or Beer ‘n’ Learn training sessions, watch training videos at their convenience - and contribute to the process at every turn.
