The Best Way To Train New Employees

May 26, 2015

by Beverly Flaxington

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Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.

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Dear Bev,

I work for a large financial firm and we are in the process of putting together training sessions for new hires. We are arguing about the best way to approach these sessions. Some believe we should put on a sales hat and try and “sell” our new hires on how great we are. Others think we should stick purely to the facts and just say this is what we do and how we do it. Any perspective on what’s better?

Ronny T.

Dear Ronny,

I first have to ask what you are trying to accomplish with the training. Do you want to excite new employees, so that they know they made a great decision to work with you? Or do you want them to be knowledgeable enough to share details and information about the company?

I might assume your answer will be both. In general, training should convey actionable facts and data that a new employee can use. This means not giving too many details that will overwhelm and confuse the new hires; it means giving enough so that they can talk cogently about the firm.

However, I think there is a way to share facts and data that allows you to more subtly sell them on your company. There is an opportunity to bring in some of your branding – your value proposition and what you do for clients. You can frame your delivery of the data and the facts using terms or analogies or stories that help to define who you are and what you do.

For example, if you want new employees to know a lot about your unique investing approach, you might share a story about a client you worked with and how you helped solve their needs with your approach. The training could be about the approach itself, but also how the approach works with clients and how it demonstrates your unique value offering.

Whatever you do, make sure to create the training so it is engaging and you are able to understand what new employees hope to learn. Have them practice with whatever they are learning. The more they can engage with the training and apply what you are teaching them, the more they will benefit and enjoy the training.

Many employees are thrown into a new role and a new firm and expected to just learn on the fly. The fact that you are giving them training will likely make them feel good about their choice to work for your firm.

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