It’s like a double-edged sword. Every year you find yourself needing to add staff to the team to support your busy season. You struggle to find the time and capacity to train the new staff during this crazy time. It is possible to increase your staff and bring them up to speed even while the busiest time of the year is taking place. Spring Green has the tips you need to train your new staff members safely and efficiently when you need them most.
5 Tips For Training New Employees When You Are Busy
- Set things up during the slow season to be successful in the busy season. The slow season is the perfect time to take a step back and set up an onboarding and training process. From interviewing to onboarding to on-the-job training, this process can all be created in advance of the busy time, so when you do have to add some employees to the team, you’ve got the toolkit to get them up to speed.
- Prioritize training even if it slows you down. Training should not fall to the wayside just because you are in the busy season. Lack of training can have far-reaching and negative impacts on your business. From losing customers to losing employees, incomplete training protocols can have a direct impact on the bottom line. Sometimes all it takes is a mindset shift. Instead of looking at training as an optional undertaking or something that can be done when things are not so hectic, approach training like a must-do function of the business. You’ve invested a certain number of dollars and resources in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring the right employee, training them properly is akin to making sure you get a return on that investment.
- Delegate training to key employees. Some companies set up a buddy system, where a new employee can learn the ropes from a seasoned co-worker or a department leader. These training tasks help free up the most needed team members for the most pressing work. The key is to spread out the duties and ensure that one employee or department doesn’t turn into a training bottleneck, slowing down your operations.
- Use technology to streamline. Especially in today’s COVID environment, teams are used to working via Zoom, email, and other tools to get the information they need. By creating onboarding videos or tapping into mobile apps, you may be able to reduce the actual human power needed to get your new employees trained and ready to get the job done.
- Measure your effectiveness. Training is never a “set it and forget it” proposition. It is imperative to the success of your business that you have a measurement process to ensure that your training is working. Continuous communication, regular check-ins, and customer feedback initiatives can all help you determine whether your team is trained and performing at optimal levels.
Why Is Training My Employees Important?
Training is not an optional area of the business – even during your busy season. The truth is, it’s even more important during those times. You can set your training “machine” up when you are slow by:
- Updating any outdated processes
- Implementing any technology (such as software, mobile apps, or video conferencing) that can help streamline the process
- Assign tasks to current team members and get them ready to step up while things are still slow
- Do an audit of where your training challenges were the toughest during last year’s busy season and begin to address those during the slow period
Spring Green is the leading name in neighborhood lawn care since 1977. One of our important tenets for our franchise owners is related to knowledge. We believe that knowledge accelerates success. Training, for that reason and many others, is at the forefront of our business model. We support our franchisees as they ramp up for the warm months ahead that typically are exponentially busier.
When you are ready to explore a franchise opportunity with a business that understands what it takes to navigate the busy season and how to strategically train your staff to support your business as it grows.
Get started with the Spring Green franchise opportunity today!
