How to Train New Employees in 2024 (9 Tips)

Finding a job is hard…

But, as every HR manager knows, finding and keeping employees in 2023 is way, way harder.

Competition for top talent is fiercer than ever. 

And hiring is only half the battle. Even after you've hired the right person, you could quickly lose them — 40% of employees who don't receive the necessary job training to become effective will leave within the first year.

To win the best hires, you must play it smart before considering posting a job. As Sun Tzu wisely said in The Art of War, "Every battle is won before it is fought." 

Implement the following tips for training new employees in 2023, and you'll have a solid training program that boosts new hires' happiness and loyalty. Let's dive in! 👇

1. Create a new-hire training plan

A good training plan to help accommodate new hires will pave the way for smooth onboarding. And productivity will soar as your employees hit the ground running at their new job. New employees make the most of training without confusion about tasks and processes.

How to implement this tip

Write a detailed plan for the onboarding training process where you include:

• Essential learning info, broken into pieces to avoid overload
• Insights from existing employees to make it on-point
• Theory balanced with practical exposure
• Ways to reward progress
• Terms for checking in frequently in the first few weeks
• Feedback mechanisms

2. Set clear and realistic expectations

Telling new employees what you expect can guide them toward doing well. It makes it clear what you want them to achieve. This can lead to better work, more confidence, and happiness in their job.

How to implement this tip

When making your new hire training program, list out the specific skills, knowledge, and behaviors the training will cover. Make sure they match the job needs and company goals.

• Communicate how you'll provide feedback and how they can give you feedback on those expectations.

3. Guide new hires by switching up training types

Giving new hires a lengthy onboarding document to read can overwhelm them. Instead, release different types of training materials at appropriate stages of onboarding. For example, your training could include PDFs, videos, and interactive quizzes.

How to implement this tip

Create interactive learning activities, which are six times more likely to help students learn.

• Leverage expert knowledge by creating face-to-face video training where subject matter experts share insights from their perspective as experienced professionals.
• Frequently provide feedback through interactive activities like branching scenarios, quizzes, or open-ended questions.
• Vary text training with presenter-led videos.

4. Make your training task-oriented

Employees who clearly understand their tasks are more engaged and can apply learning in real-world scenarios more easily. They learn better and ultimately start working independently faster.

How to implement this tip:

Task-oriented training provides enough information to move quickly into practical, experiential learning. Plan it to include:

• Hands-on activities: Use interactive exercises and role-playing scenarios so employees can actively participate and practice skills in a realistic setting.
• Real-life case studies: Use case studies that reflect common workplace challenges to encourage trainees to analyze and apply their knowledge to find solutions.
• Technology-enabled simulations: Create virtual or gamified training modules replicating job tasks. Your employees will practice in a risk-free environment, under less pressure, and with more chances to learn and remember.

5. Keep your training flexible

Design flexible training that fits more learning styles, needs, and contexts. More employees will take your courses and enjoy the experience. So you'll get higher completion rates and productivity.

How to implement this tip

Create a flexible and dynamic training program that empowers new employees to learn and grow in a way that best suits them:

• Experiment with blended learning: Offer a mix of in-person sessions, self-paced online modules, and virtual classrooms.
• Modularize training content: Break down training content into smaller modules or units that are easy to follow.
• Allow customization and personalization: Add branching scenarios with different learning paths to personalize training and deliver real-time feedback.

6. Get leadership involved 

When leaders participate in training, it encourages a culture of guidance and help from top to bottom. This makes new employees feel important and more likely to stay for a long time.

How to implement this tip

Enable your leaders to play their part in shaping a positive work culture and driving the organization toward success:

• Educate leaders on why they should get involved.
• Involve leaders in training design.
• Encourage leaders to share their experiences with new hires by creating opportunities for frequent one-on-one chats, especially in the early weeks.
• Make leaders feel actively responsible for new hires' success by assigning them as mentors or buddies.
• Allow leaders to contribute even more by inviting them to share knowledge in training sessions.

7. Integrate company culture into your training

Company culture training helps new employees understand and connect with your company's values, mission, and vision, fostering a strong sense of identity and belonging.

How to implement this tip

Make learning company culture a goal for every new hire:

• Detail the company mission, values, and culture during onboarding.
• Design interactive activities that facilitate experiencing the company culture through group discussions, role-playing, team building, etc.
• Ensure all training sessions align with company values.
• Encourage cross-functional collaboration so new hires get a feel for how things work in other departments.

8. Use videos to improve long-term retention

Video often makes learning easier for new hires. Research has demonstrated that learners remember videos more frequently in the long run. For example, video-based training is 10% more effective than text when learners are tested right after the training and 83% more effective when learners are tested with delay.

How to implement this tip

Create engaging, interactive, and well-structured videos to enhance your training and educational materials:

• Find an easy video creation method like Synthesia to streamline your training video creation.
• Create short, focused micro-videos on specific topics or concepts.
• Include interactive elements in your videos, such as quizzes, questions, reflection prompts, etc.
• Make videos accessible using subtitles, transcripts, captions, color contrasts, etc.

9. Plan for continuous learning

Training is an ongoing experience rather than a singular event. Continuous learning helps new hires actively contribute to your company's long-term success.

How to implement this tip

Create a systematic approach to ensure that your new hires and their teams consistently develop their skills and knowledge:

• Create a long-term learning roadmap with goals over time and key milestones.
• Offer ongoing training resources and career advancement opportunities to maintain employee engagement.
• Leverage technology and microlearning to make it easy for your employees to keep up with your long-term learning goals.

Boost your onboarding and long-term L&D programs with video

Training new employees is a process, not just a one-time event. However, finding the best, cost-effective, and easily expandable training method can be challenging.

See how you can use video to train new hires as soon as they join your company and in the long run. Consider trying Synthesia. We've already helped nearly 150,000 people become video creators, and you could be next.