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6 Steps to Creating an Effective Employee Training Program

When you hire a new employee at your company, the first thing they will need to do is go through a training program to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to perform in their role successfully. However, this isn’t possible if you, as a company’s founder or HR manager, haven’t created an employee training program.

In this article, we will go over the six steps you’ll need to do in order to create an employee training program that will effectively educate new hires.

1. Interview Current Employees

Before you create your training program, ask your current employees what they wish they had known before starting their jobs. See what they would have done differently or what they could have used more training in if you already have a loose training program set up.

Listening to this feedback is important because you’ll have firsthand accounts of what your employees and new hires need to be successful in their day-to-day roles.

2. Set Objectives

What are your objectives when a new hire goes through your employee training program?

Write down a list of topics you would like the new hire to learn and which tasks they should be able to perform after going through the program. Setting your objectives before actually creating the program and help you design the course more efficiently to hit each and every one of your objectives.

3. Design the Program

Now it’s time to design the layout of the course and the topics you’ll touch on. Think of this part as creating a course syllabus or outline. This should include everything your new hire will learn broken into chunks or modules for better organization.

It’s important to organize the topics in a way that makes sense. There should be a logical flow to the topics and go hand-in-hand with tasks they’ll be completing to get familiar with their position.

4. Teach Adults Like Adults

It’s easy to revert back to treating new hires as if they were students or children. It’s important to avoid this when creating an employee training program for adults. Keep in mind that they can process information faster and are more goal-oriented than a child in a classroom.

Also, remember that they are training because they want the job they’ve been hired to do. In turn, they are more excited to learn these new skills and topics.

5. Create Training Materials

Employee training programs often have educational materials that go with them. These include handbooks, presentations, pamphlets, and even instructional videos. No matter how you decide to get your message across, it’s important to have educational components included in the program.

Ej4 is an excellent place to start in gathering the right materials for your training program, especially when it comes to effective employee training.

6. Implement and Revise

Once you’ve finished creating your employee training program, you can start implementing it with new hires. The work doesn’t stop there, though!

Every six months or so, review your training program and ask new hires for feedback about what they liked and what they felt was missing in the program. This will help you revise it for future new hires and make it even more effective with each revision.

How to Change Up Your Gym Routine

Angela Manning Health April 26, 2018exercise, fitness, gym, health, training, wellness

Getting a little bored of the same gym routine? Read on to learn how to change up your routine to stave off the boredom!

You already know that getting regular exercise provides a whole host of benefits — more energy, less stress, better sleep, a stronger immune system, higher self-esteem, and a greater shot at living to a ripe old age. That’s why you already make it a point to hit the gym or go for a run almost every day.

Fully half of all people who begin a new workout program abandon it within six months. If you’ve made it past the half-year mark and successfully incorporated regular exercise into your schedule, then congrats! However, you may now be facing a new challenge: the dreaded plateau.

Read on to learn why plateaus happen and why it’s important to change up your gym routine, as well as some expert tips to keep yourself from getting bored.

What’s a Plateau, and Why Is It So Bad?

It’s common for people who are working out for weight loss to hit a plateau, but this phenomenon also occurs to anyone looking to build muscle or increase endurance. A plateau occurs when the gym routine and eating habits that were successful in the past simply stop working.

Believe it or not, your body is pretty darn smart. It also adapts relatively quickly. Workouts are stressors, which trigger your body to respond by rebuilding muscles and burning calories. But after a while, three miles on the treadmill or a 20-minute HIIT routine becomes the norm. A plateau is basically your body saying, “What else ya got?”

Plateaus can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you’re used to seeing significant progress. The good news? You won’t be spinning your wheels for very long if you take steps to vary your gym routine every four to six weeks.

Other Reasons to Change Up Your Workout

Getting past a discouraging plateau is a great reason to get out of the gym routine rut. Another is keeping yourself mentally engaged.

If there’s a particular form of exercise that you love, great! In many ways, that’s half the battle. When a workout feels like a punishment or a chore, it can be incredibly difficult to motivate yourself to keep doing it, day in and day out. When you are having fun, on the other hand, you might not even notice that you’re breaking a sweat or putting your body through its paces.

No matter how much you love your usual regimen, however, there are bound to be days when you’d rather stay in bed — or hit the couch for a serious Netflix binge. By trying something new, you can give yourself an extra boost of motivation.

Lastly, changing your gym routine can help prevent injury. Repetitive exercises can lead to muscle overuse, so it’s important to make sure you’re targeting all muscle groups. It’s also smart to aim for flexibility, mobility, and balance, in addition to strength and cardio.

How to Break Out of Your Gym Routine

Ready to get out of that rut? There are a couple of paths that you can take.

Check Out a Class

First, if you belong to a gym, check out the class schedule. The variety of options may just surprise you. Try yoga, pilates, Zumba, spinning, aquafit, kickboxing, pickleball, or an aerial workout. Who knows — you just may fall in love with your gym all over again.

Classes are fun, but there’s also some scientific evidence that working out with others can actually help you reach fitness milestones faster. According to a study published in the Journal of Social Sciences, people tend to emulate their peers when exercising in a group. Another study, this one in the journal Obesity, found that simply spending time with fitter friends can actually an obese individual to lose weight.

Enjoy the Great Outdoors

Prefer an outdoor workout? Of course, you can walk, run, hike, or bike, but don’t forget about roller skating, rowing, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. Or go super old-school and bust out a jump rope! Jump ropes are small and lightweight, which makes them perfect for a heart-healthy cardio workout — whether you’re indoors or outdoors, at home or traveling for vacation.

Increase Weight, Reduce Reps

If you love lifting, never fear — there’s a way to mix up your strength routine, too. Rather than the typical one to three sets of eight to 12 reps, try upping the weight by 5% or 10%. See how many reps you can do at that level. When that becomes easy, increase the weight again.

Don’t forget to target complementary muscle groups. That means quads and hamstring, biceps and triceps, pecs and lats. These workouts will ensure a well-toned and balanced physique.

Change Directions

Are bodyweight routines your go-to? Think about the ways that you typically move, and mix that up. For example, if you usually do squats, you’re only moving up and down. Substitute bilateral moves, like lunges. Bilateral exercises also give you the advantage of working each side of your body separately, for more even results.

It’s also easy to switch up your gym routine by categorizing each move as a push or a pull. Say you do pushups and lateral pulldowns every day at the gym. What if you reversed that, and swap in bench presses and pull-ups? Sometimes, small changes like these are all you need to break you out of your habits and get your body responding once again.

Get FITT

You’ve heard of HIIT, but do you know what FITT stands for? Frequency, intensity, time and type. Make changes to any of those factors, and voila! You’ve changed your gym routine.

Runners who enjoy a slow, steady jog for 30 minutes can breath new life into their workout by doing sprints every other day. If you usually use free weights, try kettlebells, medicine balls, or a bodyweight routine.

It might not sound like much, but making fairly minor adjustments like these will get you maximum results. Tiny tweaks to your normal sweat sessions are all that’s needed to catch your body off-guard.

What Does Your Gym Routine Look Like?

Are you addicted to your weekly Bikram yoga class? A diehard runner? A kickboxing powerhouse? Or maybe all you can manage is a walk around the block with your dog. It doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you’re getting out there and taking charge of your health.

We’d love to hear about your favorite workout, or about any tips for changing things up that we may have forgotten. Leave a comment below to join in the conversation!

6 Steps Every Business Must Take to Protect Against Personal Injury Lawsuits

Angela Manning Business November 29, 2017business, business advice, company, health and safety, law, lawsuits, training, workforce

The law expects that all businesses must take the proper steps to ensure that the customers and clients visiting their premises are safe and protected from injuries and accidents. Although unforeseen incidents cannot be prevented, every business owner should be prepared for the possibility of having to deal with personal injury lawsuits.

As a store or company owner, you must take the basic precautions to ensure that your setup remains safe from lawsuits brought by employees or customers. Keep in mind that plaintiffs suing your company even with a small complaint can cost you millions of dollars if found to be valid. It might interest you to know the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that each year 16,397 personal injury cases are presented in court. This number makes up only 4% of the total number of incidents with the other 96% being settled out of court.

Here are some of the initiatives you can implement on a regular basis.

1. Conduct Regular Training Sessions for Your Employees

Educate your employees about the importance of a creating a hazard-free workplace, both for the people who work in the company and for customers, vendors, and any other visitors so that personal injury lawsuits are avoided. Remember, even if the incident occurs because of the negligence of a worker, you could still be held responsible.

Set up a protocol that employees must strictly follow when using equipment. Train them carefully so that even the simplest of tasks are performed without causing injury or creating a hazard. For example, a smart stacking system that won’t cause products to tumble with casual brushing.
Insist that all equipment is stored carefully after use and not left lying around so it can hurt people.
On your part, keep all equipment well-maintained and in perfect working order.
As a feature in Business.com explains, teach your employees to keep a sharp lookout for loose railings and floorboards, torn carpets, shaky tiles and bricks, or any other potential hazard.
Welcome feedback from your workers regarding any health and safety issues that need to be dealt with.

2. Invite Professional Health and Safety Inspections

Even if you’re not the property owner, as the lessee, it is up to you to ensure that the building is safe. You can conduct regular inspections of the structure to look for any risks and hazards that can potentially lead to personal injury lawsuits resulting from negligence on the part of the store owner. If possible, get a professional to inspect the external and internal sections, sidewalks outside, storerooms, stairways, hallways, restrooms, and all other areas of the company structure. Yet another smart strategy is to call in an attorney who has the necessary experience in litigation to take a look around and identify any weak spots.

3. Conduct All Maintenance and Renovations Out of Working Hours

Schedule any cleaning and maintenance tasks out of business hours so that they don’t cause any slips and falls. For instance, water or soap on the floor, ladders in the hallways, and tools lying around could hurt visitors. You can also risk a personal injury lawsuit because of the dust or fumes from cleaning solutions. If you must have the repair jobs done right away, section off the area with the mandatory yellow signs warning visitors of the risks.

4. Organize the Workplace Carefully

Organize your store or workplace carefully so that there is no clutter lying around that can cause tripping incidents. Mark out all corners carefully with signs that are clearly visible. Arrange the desks and aisles with enough moving space. If your organization has earned certificates and licenses for health and safety precautions, you might want to display them. In this way, you offer assurance to customers that your company takes all the necessary care for their protection.

5. Talk to Your Insurance Company about General Liability Coverage

Getting protection against personal injury lawsuits that can cause significant losses is a good move. As an article on FindLaw reveals, accidents can also occur in areas where the lighting is inadequate or because of natural weather conditions like rain water or melted snow that can result in a slip-and-fall occurrence. General liability insurance can provide you with coverage in case you get sued. In addition to personal and bodily harm, the insurance also protects you from advertising injury, slander, libel, damage to property and any other risks.

6. Handle an Accident with Tact and Sensitivity

You can take all the possible precautions to secure your establishment but accidents can take place. It is advisable to stay informed on the best measures to take when an incident occurs. For instance, have an updated first-aid kit always at hand. Inform emergency services right away and do everything you can to add to the comfort of the injured person. Create a detailed account of the incident and request all the other people around for statements. Record their impressions along with their names and contact information in case you need to call them in as witnesses. Also, get in touch with your attorney to prepare for the possibility of a personal injury lawsuit.

In addition to the costs of litigation, you may have to deal with the loss of reputation of your business in case an accident and its fallout takes place. Protect your company from unwanted and unfavorable publicity by doing the best you can to secure the premises and avoid personal injury lawsuits.

Why It’s Important to Invest in Your Employees Training and Education

Angela Manning Business July 27, 2017business, employees, entrepreneurship, staff, training, workforce

Do you look for ways to continually improve your employee’s skills and increase their working knowledge? If not, your business could be losing out and it could affect the success of your organization. However, by investing in your employee’s education and training, your business could benefit in many different ways. Below are some of the reasons why it’s important to invest in employee training and education.

Employees Get Better at Their Jobs

In most cases, a business is only as good as the people who work in it. If your employees are highly skilled, they are more likely to be more efficient and they will produce higher quality work. For example, if you want certain members of your business to lead and carry out business functions on your company’s behalf, they should have completed a relevant business course such as the online MBA degree. Once your employees have completed a business course like the masters in business administration online program, they will have much more confidence in their ability and possess the tools required to do their jobs much better.

Employees Become Leaders Themselves

You should view your business as a well-oiled machine where teamwork is a priority. However, for any team to function properly, you need a number of different leaders. Training and educating your staff members will make it more likely that leaders emerge who will ensure that your business becomes a much more professional outfit.

It Improves Morale

Most people want to feel appreciated and they also want to feel that they are an important part of a business. Sending your employees on regular training courses is a clear indication that you want them to keep improving at their jobs and that they have a key role to play in your organization. This, in turn, is almost certain to motivate your employees and increase the likelihood that they will become much more efficient and professional and show more loyalty to you and your business, unlike employees who are neglected by their employers.

It Enhances Your Business Reputation

If people and organizations outside of your business realize how much you invest in your employee training and education, this will enhance your business’s reputation in different ways. Other companies and individuals will want to deal with you because of your professional approach to this area of your business and high caliber workers will want to join your company.

It Increases Overall Efficiency and Profitability in Your Business

Ultimately, a business has to make money and a highly educated workforce gives you a much better chance to do this. Fewer mistakes will be made, there should be less waste and more people and businesses will want to buy your products or services, so your bottom line should look a lot healthier when you invest in your employee’s education and training.

There are many good reasons to invest in your employee’s education and training. Once you do make this investment, it should pay you back.