Sustainment’s Secret Sauce: New Hire Training

Often times, change management projects are approached with a strong focus on a go-live date. Like wedding planning, there is a detailed obsession with countdown checklists and preparedness for “the big event.” The problem is that life and your business operations continue to march on long after the big day.

Let’s look at one common example of how this falls short. You have a new hire start the day after go live. The trainers have gone back to their normal roles, your consultants have moved on. How do you get the new hire assimilated and trained in the right way? Rate your program on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high) for these questions:

• Have we built training to encompass the full competency required for the role?

• Do we have routines firmly in place that follow the new processes and roles?

• Are our managers fully prepared to coach in the new processes?

The lower your number, the higher your risk. The more people that join post go-live, the more you erode your change. Additionally, this points to an overall lack of focus on the game of sustaining the change.

Instead, when you develop your training, make your destination about training new hires long term. The marriage is just beginning at the wedding and your change is just beginning at go-live. Approach it that way and you’re much more likely to have happy, healthy years to come.