Did you know an organisation is more likely to lose a new apprentice or trainee during the first 3 months compared to any other time during their employment?

Mentoring starts on the first day

Prepare

Prior to your new trainee's first day, get their workspace ready and let your current employees know about the new start. Ideally, a written training plan will be created. This should contain step-by-step tasks the trainee will be trained to do and will cover the first days or even weeks of employment.

First Day

Think about arranging a special meeting to formally introduce the new employee to all staff. This will encourage the trainee to feel welcome and valued as a team member.

Allocate a Mentor/ Go-To person

Select a knowledgeable staff member who will be open to answering questions and encouraging the learning process. Many mistakes made by new employees are done when they feel too intimidated or embarrassed to ask questions.

Think back to your first day in the trade/workplace. What was it like? What do you wish it had been like?

Keeping your employee motivated and enthusiastic

DON'T let them learn the hard way

To save your new trainee from getting into trouble, give them plenty of information about your workplace and its rules and regulations. Provide them with your company's policies and procedures and encourage them to ask questions about any aspect of their employment.

Explain WHY tasks are important to you and the company:

Trainees can sometimes lose motivation when assigned what may be deemed as unimportant or under-valued tasks. A great way to overcome this when introducing a new task is to explain the value and on-flow effect of their work. This will give them stronger drive to meet or even exceed your expectations.

Keep them IN THE LOOP:

Discuss your plans for them in the future. In the coming weeks or months, what new tasks will they be introduced to? Setting out clear goals will encourage your employee to work toward achieving them.

Why follow these steps?

Save TIME

While spending extra time with a new employee can slow things down initially, in the long run your new employee will be brought to speed much more quickly.

Increase PRODUCTIVITY

Workplace studies show that a happy employee is more productive and enthusiastic about their job and displays greater respect for their colleagues and supervisor(s).

Reduce TURNOVER

Your trainee's experience within their first week of starting will have a huge impact on their impression of your organisation and overall enthusiasm toward their new role.

Reduce STRESS

Starting a new job is always daunting and stressful, especially for trainees who are most often new to work and the industry altogether. A successful orientation will reduce their stress level and in turn they will be more receptive to training.

For any further information or assistance with mentoring your apprentice or trainee, please contact us on 4353 2655.