New hire training adds up

Regular readers of my column know I’ve been around the block a few times. I have worked for more than a handful of companies over the years and consider it an opportunity not lost, but gained. Why? Besides giving me material for my column, the variety of jobs has provided me an insider’s look at the workings of numerous companies in the metalworking industry, both good and bad. My focus here is on training—or the lack thereof—of new hires.

What many companies don’t realize in their quest to get new workers up and running is the investment they make in initial training determines how much of an asset the employees will be—both short and long term. It’s short-sighted and ultimately costly to omit training.

I started my manufacturing career loading trucks. Simple enough task, right? Well, the first thing they did was to put me in the office for a week or so. What did office work have to do with loading trucks? They wanted me to understand the flow of paperwork from the time an order was received until it shipped. I met the people directly involved in the process, from inside sales to order processing to shipping. If I ever had any questions or problems with an order I was loading, I knew where to go and who to see to resolve the issue. 

Then the company put me in the warehouse for another week to become familiar with the products being shipped. Done with training, right? Nope. I was then on the road in a tractor trailer with the driver to deliver materials and pick up customer returns or materials from vendors. Then I spent a week or two learning how to load a truck correctly, taking into account weight distribution and unload sequence for the route. 

It was about a month of costly training, with no initial value added to the operation. All for a position loading trucks. But in return, the company received an efficient and motivated employee. After training, I was rocking! I could load trucks blindfolded, knew who to see if I had a question about an order, always had the correct parts and quantities on the trucks and never had problems with the drivers because I properly loaded items.

At another company, however, I was basically tossed into the fire after being hired. I have worked with various software packages, but it takes time to get used to a new one because of different command structures and terminology. I was supposed to work with another engineer, but his workload limited his time with me to short intervals. Rather than spending a day or two looking over his shoulder and taking notes, I had to constantly ask questions when he was available while I muddled through. 

My frustration level was extremely high. Too frequently, I had to stop what I was doing because I needed a question answered. What should have taken a week took me several weeks to learn. What a waste! 

Fortunately, I found a position at another company where the training program is better. From day one, I have been introduced to the people I need to interface with, from office to shop personnel. I’ve been shown the flow of goods from beginning to end. I am scheduled for enterprise resource planning system training and training on the new (to me) CAD system. They understand my added value will pay off.

Usually, the larger the company, the longer the training. Smaller companies generally don’t need month-long training programs to get the same dividends. Maybe a week or two of training in the various departments will suffice. However, the long-term dividends will be measurable. Patience can be a virtue even in the industrial world.