Tips for Training College Freshman Student Workers

Whether or not college freshman student workers have stepped into the workforce before, they are joining an entirely new environment. You and your workplace might carry different responsibilities and rules than their previous jobs, and you want to ensure that they will be properly trained. The correct training is crucial for these college freshman student workers so that they can succeed in their new role.

Failure to train them properly can result in not only poor performance, but also cause these college freshman student workers extreme stress and lack of confidence in the role, leading to constant questions. While questions aren’t bad, you want your workers to know what they are doing so that everything runs smoothly!

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Tour the Workplace

On your college freshman student workers’ first day, set aside time to tour the entire workplace. Show them where they can find extra supplies, the break room, and of course, where they’ll be doing the bulk of their work. This is easy but essential so that everyone knows their way around the workplace and doesn’t wander around or get lost. Even if the workplace is small, it can be difficult to find exactly what they need, which can be a waste of time. A tour will not only improve productivity, but also allow your new student workers to feel more comfortable in their new environment, rather than a stranger walking on eggshells in the place, unsure of where to go or what to do.

Use this opportunity to also introduce your new student workers to the rest of the team. While not all of their soon-to-be coworkers will be working at that time, it helps to break the ice and furthers their comfort in their new environment.

Review Guidelines and Expectations

You need to be clear as you communicate and review the rules in the workplace. These are your basic guidelines and expectations that every worker needs to adhere to. This includes the dress code or uniform they need to wear, who they should contact for questions and the general chain of command, as well as general phone etiquette and usage while on the clock. Are your workers expected to leave their phones in the break room, or can they keep them on the floor in case you need to contact them that way?

This is very important so that everyone is on the same page when it comes to the rules of your workplace, and so that they don’t break anything without knowing beforehand.

Hands-On Training

You should always provide hands-on training to your college freshman student workers. Most accidents or mistakes happen because your workers aren’t 100% sure of how to use the programs and tools you utilize during the workday. Allowing them to use everything themselves in a safe environment gets them much more familiar and minimizes incidents once left unsupervised. Not only does this then ease them into the workplace, similar to what happens in a classroom, like they are used to, but it also gets them familiar and comfortable with their work. This hands-on training allows these new student workers to ask you questions as they arise without the added pressures of customers and clients causing stress. They can go through the motions and get used to the programs you use, and gain muscle memory for what to click or where to go with certain types of transactions.

Role-Play

A fun and easy addition to training is to add in role-play scenarios. Act as a customer or client and have your new college freshman student worker act through the scenario as they would for a real customer. This allows them to make mistakes without it being detrimental, as you can correct them if necessary, but it takes that hands-on training one step further by putting them in the driver’s seat and driving the interaction between you two as they act in their new role.

Role-playing gives your new workers access to a diverse range of customers and transactions that they could come across. There is always a wide range of customers, and something unexpected could catch them off guard. This way, they are prepared when something different comes up because you role-played the scenario together!

You can even have your other employees role-play together to strengthen their skills and help each other become the best they can all be. Utilizing role-play is something that never goes out of style, regardless of how long your workers have been there–it’s always a great way to dust off old skills to make sure everyone stays sharp!

Training your new college freshman student workers won’t be difficult, so long as you do it correctly. Utilize these tips so that everyone is on the same page and can easily get accustomed to their new workplace environment and the equipment you all use.