How to Build an Internal Training Program for New (and Existing) Team Members
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We talk about hiring a lot around here. Because I firmly believe that it's the MAIN thing that's going to help you become a business owner who can take as much time away from your business as you need — without worrying that everything's going to fall apart!
I know it's hard to imagine now, but with the right systems in place, hiring the right candidates, and taking the time to train them...
You'll be perfectly positioned to take yourself out of the day-to-day operations of your bookkeeping business.
That's what I'm all about because I've lived both lives: The one where I'm working at all hours and things are STILL falling through the cracks. And the one where I'm taking three weeks to frolic around Europe with a one-way plane ticket.
In this blog, I'm talking all about how hiring team members is only half the battle. The other half (and maybe the more important part) is what to do once you've onboarded them!
It's not enough to just add someone to your team and expect them to know what to do, you need to give them support so they can actually be successful in their role.
The best part of creating an internal training program like this is after you create it once, you can use it over and over again!
Read on to learn:
Why you need to train your team members after you hire them
What to include in your internal training program
What to do if you have existing team members who haven't been properly trained
And if creating a full-on internal training program sounds like overkill for your firm right now, I have an alternative that'll still get your new team members set up for success!
Do You Need To Train Your Team Members?
I can say that yes, you 100% need to train your team members as soon as they're hired. Even if you hired a bookkeeper to support you with client work or an account manager!
Many bookkeeping business owners assume that since they hired a bookkeeper to do bookkeeping work, they'll know exactly what to do with little or no direction.
And while that might be a little true, they've never worked for YOU before! So it's not fair to expect them to know how to meet your expectations without actually setting them first.
Don't just throw them to the wolves and wonder why they're struggling.
I've seen so many business owners rush to fire team members who aren't meeting expectations and my first question to them is this:
Did you train them on how to succeed in their role?
Almost every time, it's not a matter of your hire being the wrong fit, it's that they were missing information or resources to do their job correctly.
It's hard to come to terms with, but properly training your team members WILL take some time upfront if you want to do it right.
And you don’t need to have some fancy online course platform to host it, just put it in Notion and you’re good to go!
What Should You Include In An Internal Training Program?
If you've ever worked for a large corporation, chances are you've been through an internal training program. When I got hired at a credit union to be a back-of-the-house teller (one of my first jobs back in the day!), they put me through a training program with videos and lessons to teach me things like; how to treat customers, the company's mission statement, rules about taking breaks and time off, how to process checks, etc.
When I built my own team at Workflow Queen, I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of doing the same thing!
Because creating an internal training program isn't just for Fortune 500 companies. It's for ANYONE who employs another person.
When you create your own training program, you can include content on topics like:
Your company culture, goals, and core values
The tech you use in your everyday operations and how to use it
Where to find SOPs and other resources
How to communicate with other team members and clients
A tour of your file organization system (Google Drive) and your project management system (Asana)
Anything else you find important!
The more examples, resources, and information you can provide in this training program, the better. As long as you have it organized in a way that's easy to navigate, your team member can use it as often as they need.
Staying Organized and On Track During Training
We recommend setting a timeline for them to follow as they go through the course. Our internal training period is 4 weeks long:
Week 1 - Company
In the first week of training, the lessons are pretty light so they don't get overwhelmed. They have a few tasks to complete, but mostly our new hire is just learning about the company's culture, our values, creating efficacy tools, how to use Asana (our most important system), etc..
Week 2 - Tech + Software
Here's where we get into all the tech-heavy material! As a virtual firm and business owner, it's super important to have a streamlined tech stack that supports every aspect of your business. In the second week of training, we provide tutorials on how and when to use everything in our tech stack with an introduction to client work, our services and overall processes.
Week 3 - Shadowing
Now it's time for the new team member to get some hands-on experience! They'll shadow someone in a similar role to see how we put the training to use in real-time. They won't do the work just yet, but it's still helpful to see and hear their trainer explain the thought process behind the decisions they make throughout their workday.
Week 4 - Getting to Work
It's finally time for our trainee to get their feet wet by taking on some tasks! In this phase of the training process, they'll have a trainer shadow them and submit any work for approval before marking the task complete.
After the week is up, we'll still check on their work regularly until we feel like they're ready to work independently.
One thing we include in our internal training program that often gets overlooked is a daily exit survey. It's a simple form that asks them how they felt about how the day went and if they have any questions. We also include a few check box tasks to make sure they check out in Slack, complete all their tasks in Asana, and stop their Clockify timer. You can include whatever makes sense for your firm in this form!
What's amazing about this simple addition to our training is that it helps them build habits they'll need to be successful in their role once training is over.
What If I Already Have Team Members Who Haven't Been Trained?
You're not alone! Lots of firm owners hire fast or when they're in desperate need of help and never take the time to train.
That's when you can re-onboard your team members to help get them back on track and meet your expectations. Like I said earlier in this blog, it's not always the team member's fault for falling out of alignment!
I've personally seen success with my own team member that I've re-onboarded when I noticed a lack of information and guidance.
Properly onboarding and training your team is the best way to reduce turnover and strengthen your most important asset!
If you feel like an actual program like this is too much for you right now, that's okay too. At a minimum, I'd recommend you create a schedule for what you'd like to train and set regular Zoom meetings with your team members.
Our high-touch group program for bookkeepers and accountants is the best (and fastest) way to skip all the headaches of figuring it out yourself and getting straight to the action steps of what'll make a difference in your firm.
Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants is for firm owners who need support bridging the gap between gaining traction and maxing out their capacity. This goes WAY beyond just setting up your project management system and building workflows.
It's about building deep internal systems that'll carry your firm to the next level, without trying to figure it all out on your own.
Join our team of experts and a cohort of your peers inside the program.
