Organisational Training: How New Hires Can Maximise Benefits

The training of a human being starts around 18 weeks after conception. While still in the womb, a baby starts listening to its surroundings and starts responding to such sounds after the 25^th week of pregnancy.

This process accelerates rapidly after birth, and every day we learn something new till we die. We keep observing people, events and things around us, and our brain is continuously storing all such information. Although we may not remember and recollect everything, this database is our point of reference throughout our entire lives.

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.

Oscar Wilde

Most of our thought processes, value systems and work ethics are formed during our initial days, depending on the people and surroundings that we live with. These are usually independent of the education we receive.

A good quality education rather helps us in identifying the good aspects of our behaviour and working on them so that the not-so-good aspects of our behaviour don’t bog us down. It also helps us in developing our vocational skills, which are a key aspect of our professional life. We use these skills to do our stuff and fulfil our dreams.

Good quality education also gives us a head start as we represent the pedigree of our respective educational institutes. We also immensely benefit from the goodwill that our alumni have created in the marketplace.

When we start a new job, we bring the below 2 aspects of our personality to the table;

1. Behavioural Skills (Thought Process, Value Systems, Work Ethics, etc.) and
2. Vocational Skills (Technical Skills, Subject Matter Expertise, Past Experience, etc.)

However, these are not good enough to help us perform our duties. To overcome this, at the beginning of any new assignment or job, we have to undergo various training programs. These training programs can be broadly categorised as;

• Induction Training
• Technical Training

Let us understand both these in detail.

Induction Training

The objective of this training program is to inform the participants about the organisation in general. It covers a wide range of topics like the history of the organisation, its culture, lineage, values, policies, products, services, etc. The content is not very detailed as the idea is not to educate but to give an overall impression.

This helps the participants to acclimatise to the surroundings and makes them comfortable in the new environment. These training programs often involve speakers from the higher management representing various departments and business lines of the organisation.

This is a great opportunity for the participants to assess if they have made the right choice by joining the organisation and plan their next moves accordingly.

If, during this process, you feel you have erred in your decision, start working on your exit plan immediately. If you feel that you are a misfit, you will not last here very long.

You might think that you would be able to change yourself and become fit; however, it usually doesn’t work. It is not impossible, but requires a lot of determination, willpower and hard work to do and is a long-term process. You, in the meantime, would feel suffocated and regret your decision every day, so decide wisely.

Before you speak to the HR or your superior, please make sure that you have identified the real reason for your dissatisfaction and identified if there are any possible solutions for it. For example, changing your process, shift timings, location, salary structure, etc. This might help in the negotiation process, as the HR may prefer retaining you if the solution proposed by you is workable.

On the other hand, if you feel that you have made the right decision in taking up this assignment, it is a great opportunity to mingle with the who’s who of the organisation. You can identify your idols and mentors then and there. If you get an opportunity, try having a freewheeling discussion to understand what made them successful.

Pay proper attention to the working and functioning of various teams and departments. Identify growth opportunities and possibilities of lateral movement in the following years. This will help you in your career planning.

Technical or Process Training

In this training, you would be told about the actual job that you would be doing. Usually, these programs are of longer duration and involve subject matter experts from the particular process/ department.

The time and effort made in this training will go a long way in shaping your future within the organisation. It is very important to pay attention to whatever is being taught, as afterwards you will never get time to give your undivided attention to learning these things. Once you are on the job, you would be buried under so much work that it would be almost impossible to take time for these.

You also need to focus on various nuances, workarounds and shortcuts that these trainers would be telling in casual and off-the-record discussions. This stuff comes from experience and is not written in any manual, presentation or training handout.”

Always keep a notebook or diary with you and keep noting down such things diligently. Remember that once this training is over, you will not be able to recollect more than 20-30% of what you have learnt here, and it will further reduce to around 10-15% in the next 3 months if it is something that is not used frequently.

Do not forget to ask questions. At times, ask just for the sake of asking, even if you know the answers. Don’t make it too obvious, though. It tells everybody that you are paying attention and creates a good impression on the trainers.

Remember, one of them is your future boss. If they have a complicated assignment, they would prefer to give it to a known person (who was attentive during their session) instead of giving it to someone who was sleeping in the last row. Working on such special projects goes a long way in boosting your career later and also adds weightage to your resume.

I am sure you shall find this article useful.

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