Maybe new hires aren't struggling because they can't learn… maybe we're teaching them the wrong things at the wrong time.

Go through the experience

Before I redesign onboarding, I prefer to experience it. I would go through the existing program myself whenever possible.

• Complete the learning.
• Use the systems.
• Read the resources.
• Try the exercises.

Training can make perfect sense in the room and still leave a new employee wondering how the pieces fit together on the job.

Get into the work

I wouldn't want to understand the job only from the training materials. I'd want to see how the work actually happens.

• What does a normal day look like?
• Where do people hesitate?
• What mistakes happen repeatedly?
• What questions keep coming back?
• What do experienced employees know now that nobody explained when they started?

At Target I prepared to teach collections without a collections background, so I went through the new-hire experience and took actual collections calls. That's this philosophy in action.

Ask the people who lived it

I would talk with recent new hires, experienced employees, trainers, leaders, and other relevant partners. Not because I'm looking for one person's answer. I'm looking for patterns.

• What worked?
• What was confusing?
• What did you have to figure out yourself?
• Where did you feel overwhelmed?
• What would you move earlier or later?
• What did you need more practice doing?

Build the foundation

Then I start arranging the learning.

• What needs to come first?
• What builds on that?
• What can wait?
• What needs explanation?
• What needs practice?
• What belongs in a resource rather than someone's memory?

Chunk it. Practice it. Build on it.

Give someone a bite-sized piece, let them use it, answer questions, reinforce it, then layer the next piece on top. Repeat.

Create a safe place to fumble

New employees need permission to be beginners.

• Use practice systems.
• Use mock scenarios.
• Let them move the mouse.
• Let them take a practice call.
• Let them choose the wrong path.

If I'm always doing it for them, I can't see what they don't understand. And they can't discover it either. At Target, I used hot-seat scenarios for exactly this.

Read the room

I'm not simply delivering curriculum. I'm constantly observing.

• Who looks lost?
• Who finished five minutes ago?
• Did everyone just glaze over?
• Are the same questions appearing?
• Does the class need more practice, or a mental break?

Then adapt. Sometimes that means slowing down. Sometimes another example. Sometimes parking a question and bringing the answer back. And sometimes it means a Jenga review game after lunch, because a little fun brings a tired room back to life.

Use the real world

Training environments are useful. Real examples are better. As learners progress, I bring in actual situations, live examples, and real problems, because that's when people start connecting training to the job they're actually being asked to perform.

Treat version one as a dry run

The first class isn't proof that the curriculum is finished. It's information.

• What flowed?
• What felt clunky?
• What questions surfaced?
• Where did people struggle?
• What resources were missing?

Then revise.

Check again after they're doing the work

The real test isn't whether everybody finished the class. It's what happens afterward.

• Are their questions becoming more advanced?
• Can they navigate independently?
• Where are they still getting stuck?
• What do their leaders observe?
• What do learners wish they'd practiced more?