The hardest part was untraining the window cleaners.
We started with easy.
The first day we would teach a window cleaner the side to side method.
The problem?
As a professional window cleaner, you can’t make money using side to side.
You make money with the swirl.
It’s faster.
It’s easier.
It takes longer to master.
We started with easy.
And never got to profitable.
Because it’s hard to untrain that first day of training.
Here’s the method.
Now forget what we said yesterday. Here’s the real method.
We let them get good at inefficient.
And then couldn’t convince them of a better way.
After all, we had just finished teaching them.
Now we teach the swirl from day one.
It makes for a few frustrating days.
Until they get it.
And once they get it, they’ve got it.
What do your employees learn on the first day of training?
Here are 3 tips on making a great first impression:
1. Real Work
The second most common mistake on the first day of training is to create busy work or special training exercises.
In reality, you have too much paid work to tolerate the new hires doing unpaid work.
That’s why you hired them.
To give them real work.
Side by side with the person who’s teaching them.
Are your employees doing real work from day one?
2. Train Once
We thought that by starting easy,
We were creating a path to mastery.
It doesn’t work that way.
Train the right methods.
Right from the start.
People will do things the way they first learned to do them.
Step 1: Demonstrate. The right way.
3. Delegating Takes Three Months
The most common mistake is too little training.
Training someone for a day (or week) is abdicating.
It takes a minimum of 3 months to delegate effectively.
Even when an employee hits the ground running.
Work the 4-Step Delegation Process for at least 3 months.
They will master the easy stuff quickly.
The complexities take longer.
How long is your initial training program?