The average time to fill an open position ranges from four to fourteen weeks (RHI/CareerBuider.com Report, 2008). Provided most employees still give the standard two-weeks notice, this means before your new hire starts, the position they're expected to effortlessly walk into has been open two weeks to three months already! Getting this employee up and running ASAP is vital to the success, or in this economy, the survival of your company. By implementing these four tips into your training program, you can help your new hires get fully ramped-up in no time at all:

1) Make expectations clear on day one—or even sooner. Much of the time figured into ramp-up time can be attributed to attrition. If you make it clear to your new hires on the first day, or even in the interview, what will be expected of them regarding workload and goals, you’re more likely to begin training an employee who won’t quit just as they get ramped-up. If you feel as if you’re selling a position to an employee—stop. The employee probably isn’t the right fit.

2) After expectations are clear, let the employee test the waters right away. This doesn’t mean setting up your new hires to practice on clients—but instead, arrange for the employee to role-play with a seasoned employee, trainer or on video using SureSpeak. Gauging employees’ starting points, as well as where they excel, can make your job as a trainer a lot easier.

3) Immerse your new hire into different situations. No matter what position you’re hiring for, the employee will most likely need to be able to make judgment calls in different scenarios. Practice as many real-world situations with the new employee in rapid succession, with evaluation after each training session. Give examples of yourself or another employee in similar situations, and then make the new employee practice it themselves. By the way, SureSpeak’s iRole™ is a great way to practice these skills.

4) Create a standard method of delivering consistent feedback. All employees need consistent and constructive feedback. Many trainers wait until the end of a training session to take the time to review trainee’s progress, which adds days or weeks onto the employee’s ramp-up time. Oftentimes, time is stretched in training sessions, and providing individual employees with one-on-one training and feedback seems impossible. Find ways to make best use of your valuable training hours. An effective way is to incorporate SureSpeak.

Want a simple way to decrease your new hire’s ramp-up time using your current training content? Contact SureSpeak about the Rapid Results™ program. Give us 25 new hires, and they will be outperforming peers in one month. Guaranteed. Email sales@surespeak.com