How to Create an Employee Training Manual

Whether you’re a company with five employees or thousands, you need to have an employee training manual—a vital tool for every employee in your organization. When a new hire walks in the door on their first day, it provides insight into the company’s tools, policies, and resources.

Let’s look at what it takes to build an excellent employee training manual.

The Audience

Before learning how to make an employee training manual, you need to identify your audience. New employees need to know how to work in your environment, but current employees may need a refresher if there has been a significant upgrade to the tools they use daily. And your training department will require that your training handbook account for both your new hires and refresher trainees.

This blog will focus specifically on training a new employee to use a new tool or application.

How to Provide Training

Every person learns in their own way, which is something you’ll want to consider when designing your training, whether a physical manual or online training content. Many trainers use the tell-show-do process to help visual learners and hands-on learners in the same training:

• Tell: Have the trainer verbalize the task. The tell portion can help the visual and hands-on learner by presenting or including steps within the employee manual. Often, visual learners use this time to write down steps the trainer discusses, seeing the process in their minds as they write it out.

• Show: Have the trainer perform the task on the application, if possible. If you have the learner complete the training independently, you’ll want to include a demonstration or show-me video. Videos work best when the employee manual is viewed on a computer.

• Do: Have trainees use the tool. Let them play with it. This can either be the actual tool or a demonstration version. Simulations can be beneficial when conducting your employee training program because they allow the trainee to use the tool without creating or removing any data.

Critical Parts of the Employee Training Manual

Every employee training manual should include some form of the following contents:

• Outline or Table of Contents: Include an outline. It will help the trainer and the trainee find what they need quickly. Don’t make them flip through the pages.

• Objective: Include the aim of the training in your employee manual. Why is the trainee taking the course, and what do you expect them to learn?

• Process: Introduce each learning process with a description of why the process matters to the trainee. Including an example to go with the reason is helpful for the trainee to ensure they connect with the process. Explain the process to them in simple, straightforward steps, but don’t include too much or too little information. Including images in your process is a judgment call. For example, if the trainee is viewing a training program on a tool, don’t include screenshots; however, if they are viewing the program first, and then using the tool, images can be helpful to show them where they need to go to complete the process.

• Knowledge Checks: Throughout the training manual, include quick questions to help the trainee check how they are doing. Include references for the trainee to return to the training program in case they need a refresher.

• Summaries: At the end of each process, include an overview of what the trainee learned and link to the appropriate training areas.

Rinse and Repeat

Repeat the process, knowledge checks, and summary sections for each process that the trainee needs to learn during the training program.

Wrap-up with an assessment to see how much they’ve been learning. It can be a self-assessment included in the manual or an evaluation given on paper or online. That is up to you and your training team.

There are also some optional additions you should consider including in your manual:

• Glossary: Including a glossary of unusual terms or acronyms specific to your tools and company can significantly help the trainee. A glossary is one of the valuable tools that a trainee can regularly reference long after completing training.

• Videos: As mentioned previously, you can add videos or simulations. Include the simulations either within the process steps or at the end of the process as a knowledge check.

• Checklists: Checklists help the trainee ensure they don’t miss any of the steps in a long process. If you include a procedure with 20 or more steps, be sure to provide a simple checklist at the end of the process that can be used during day-to-day activities as they get settled.

Your employee training manual is critical to your company. With the right training manual, your trainees will be off to a solid start.