Training Manuals Live On Here’s how to keep your employees educated.
T raining manuals may lost their importance—whether they live online, on an app, or in a three-ring binder. We tapped into some of our top-performing retailers to find out who is still using training manuals, and who’s using them well. Crase Wilcoxson, store manager at J&H Outdoors in Lexington, Kentucky, has been working in outdoor specialty retail since 2009, and built his career around employee train- ing. “At J&H Outdoors, every gear consultant goes through a structured orientation that introduces them not only to our storied history, but also to the framework of their first 60 sound like an old-school concept, but they have not
days with us,” he explains. “In my time since joining J&H, we created Modules, which are printed sheets of high-level training topics categorized in specific areas of the store. These tools are more for the employee conducting the training. While this may sound regimented and rigid, there’s actually a lot of flexibility that goes into each gear consultant and what they can bring to J&H. At the completion of 60 days, the gear consultant and myself sit down to discuss their progress and decide on a course of action together on how to continue their development.” “Structure, tools, and resourc- es are primarily effective for retention, culture, and overall
From top: J&H Outdoors runs its gear consultants through smart training mod- ules; he crew at High Country outfitters feels the love. ing, or how they’re supposed to effectively do their job. Training manuals are a tool and resource for a promising foundation at any company.” He says that contributing to retention and culture is the ben- efit the business receives by not simply relying on tribal knowl- edge. “It’s important to each business’s mission and vision for themselves that training has guide rails or framework in or- der to continue giving the same level of service that a customer has come to expect.” “Training manuals are the most valuable when they can act as a resource even after training is complete,” adds Wes Allen of Sunlight Sports in Cody, Wyoming. “There is so much to learn in a small shop, and everyone has to be an expert in a bunch of different gear, plus know the computer systems, receiv- ing procedures, visual guide- lines, and much more,” Allen explains. “What we have found to be the most valuable is to use manuals both as the backbone of the employee’s first month on the job and as an accessible resource to answer questions later.” —Aaron Bible
company mission. What I mean by that is when a new employee onboards, the first 30 days are the hardest. It’s scary and can be cumbersome in the information that gets relayed,” Wilcoxson says. “It’s important that from day one, employees are given the framework to see where they will be in a predetermined time- frame. Having a goal to strive for from a training perspective gives them something to focus on or aspire to in the early days. I’ve seen many promising employees fall out and go to other retailers simply because they couldn’t figure out where they were supposed to be, what they’re supposed to be learn-
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