When we last talked about the seven types of candidates, we discussed how to hire each type. They all have their own advantages, and each type works best in different positions at different levels in your company. But now that you’ve hired them, you need to train them. And just as teachers must adapt their lesson plan for the different types of learners in their classroom, so, too, should managers and hiring staff make sure they use different methods when training each of the sevens types of employees they’ve hired.
Leader
Leaders and leaderships training are where many burgeoning companies spend their learning dollars. Leadership and management training make up 35% of companies’ learning and development budget. So when it comes to training the next generation of employees who will lead your company, it’s worth it to spend big. If you’ve invested in turning your managers into leaders, it’s worth it to go all the way and pay for leadership courses at top business schools in your country (many offer online courses as well!) Having a good leader helps everyone work better, so if you can afford it, leadership courses will end up paying for themselves. Work with leader-types to stay out of the weeds and into strategic roles, rather than attempting to do all the work themselves.
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Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurs may not be interested in formal training courses as much as leaders, but that doesn’t mean some learning some business acumen would be alien to them. Even if they have a knack for thinking big, they still have to learn from failure, and that’s important. One-third of new businesses close within their first two years, and half close within their third year. So train entrepreneurs allowing them to fail in a safe environment, discussing what went wrong and right after different projects. They want to think big, and companies need to facilitate this ideology allowing them a safety net. Provide entrepreneurs real-life projects where they can fail and learn as well as thrive and learn.
Careerist
Careerists will want training for the sake of advancing their career, so enticing them to take management training programs shouldn’t be too difficult. However, if you find that you need extra motivation, emphasize that career advancement opportunities are few and far between; only 44% of companies say their employees advance as far in their careers as the employees would like. With the extra incentive to compete, careerists will be more likely to dive into the training programs you offer them. Show careerists where they can go in the company and milestones that show progress along that path.
Hunter
Hunters want to know they’re appreciated at the job they’ve chosen. They know their strengths as employees from all the research they’ve done on the job market and want to know that you know their strengths, too. To train a Hunter, you need to cater to their strengths as a worker, but also create a system of direct feedback, where you can let them know you’re aware of their progress. Make sure to praise their good work and deftly point out areas of improvement. Keeping them in the loop will make them feel appreciated, and they’ll stick around for much longer. Leaderboards, employee (and sales) referrals and competitions as well as recognition for achievements are great ways to motivate hunters.
Internationalist
Internationalists are focused on the future, and want to accomplish their goals of international supremacy through networking. They’re social, and understand their path to success will involve who they know as much as what. To help them along, try implementing collaborative learning and training programs, like the ones IBM has recently developed. Building a collaborative training environment has all sorts of benefits, but Internationalists specifically will feel like they’re learning networking skills as they learn the job. Sending internationalists to events outside of the office, or the region will give them the best training possible while fulfilling their need to interact within the industry.
Harmonizer
Similar to Internationalists, Harmonizers want to learn through collaboration. Unlike internationalists, learning to work with others is the end itself, instead of a stepping stone towards learning communication skills. Collaborative training environments work well for harmonizers because it’s their natural element, and they’ll be more receptive to skills they can learn asking others. They’ll also learn how to get groups of people to work with each other, which should be a huge boon for them in many of the jobs they tend to do best (such as HR and group coordination). Team projects, team-building workshops and understanding their fellow co-workers workstyle will help make harmonizers work and learn even better.
Idealist
Just as you need to emphasize the larger purpose of your company when hiring an idealist, you need to emphasize how the training you’re providing will fit into their larger role at the company. You don’t need to give a life-changing speech about how learning a CMS will change their life; just let them know how every part of the learning process will work to round out their role, and how they’ll use what they learn in the regular work environment. Once idealists know how everything fits together, their learning should fall into place. Train idealists giving them a vision to work toward and allowing them to pick the skills that help fulfill that vision.
Adapting specific training approaches to different employees isn’t easy, and it can often seem like it’s not worth doing. However, with the right approach and an adaptable process, you’ll be able to train every new hire in a way that will maximize their potential.
Visibility’s learning management system will help you change your process for training whenever necessary, allowing you to see how everyone’s making progress. Sign up for a demo today and see Cyber Train in action!
