Coaching First-Time Student Employees

When you hire first-time student employees, it is your job to provide coaching to help them learn how to excel in the workplace. It can be daunting for them coming into their first job, especially as they navigate school at the same time. How they perform in their first job is entirely up to the coaching and mentoring they receive. Without proper coaching, they may be unmotivated and unsure of what to do. If you want them to reach their ultimate potential with you, it is essential that you coach first-time student employees properly.

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Don’t Assume What They Know

As smart and qualified for this position as these student employees are, you cannot assume what they do and do not know. The systems and technology you use in the workplace may be foreign to them. If you tell them to do something and they cannot properly do it, it might end up making a mess for both of you. Take training seriously and devote a lot of time so that your student employees can fully understand all operations and systems.

Before you start training, it could be a good idea to go over what they do and do not feel comfortable or knowledgeable with. They have already secured the position, so ask for honesty so that you can give them hands-on learning and experience with what they do not know, while only giving them a quick refresh on tasks they are more comfortable and experienced in.

Tell Them What to Do

Another way to coach first-time student employees is by giving them direct objectives and telling them what to do. Since they’re new to the workforce, they don’t know all of the ins and outs of day-to-day operations. For example, if something needs to be cleaned, show them where the cleaning supplies are and tell them what and how to clean. As you do this, tell them that whenever there is downtime, they can focus on cleaning and making sure the workplace looks neat and tidy.

If there are daily and weekly tasks that they need to complete, consider making a physical list to give them and walk them through your expectations for each task. It is easy to forget tasks when just given verbally, especially for first-time students. Write everything they need to do down, including how to access certain items in portals or whatnot.

Demonstrate Important Skills

Demonstration is a powerful way to coach first-time student employees, as they greatly learn when you lead by example. New employees will look to you as a leader and mentor and follow what they see. If they see you cutting corners, they may start doing the same.

Use this opportunity to demonstrate effective communication between coworkers and teammates, time management, and anything else essential in your position so that student employees see the benefits of such qualities in the workplace. They might understand that open communication is necessary, but don’t entirely know what it looks and sounds like. As they see you utilize your own skills to manage your team, it will click inside their head. Even if they don’t make a conscious effort to follow your demonstration, it will happen naturally as they continuously see it right in front of them.

Maintain One-on-One Meetings

Consistent one-on-one meetings are very important for coaching first-time student employees. They might not seem as important once workers start to get settled into a role, but you should keep up with them, whether it’s once a week or once a month. When you’re part of a big team, it can be difficult to know how you’re performing. Set aside time to speak with your employees and provide them with constructive feedback, including the good and the bad. If your student employees are unaware of the impact they are making within the team, it’s not really possible for them to improve.

Always tell them what they are doing right to keep them motivated and confident in their growing skills. However, you do need to tell them in the areas they can improve as well, so they know what changes to make going forward. Ensure that any feedback is truly constructive and includes how they can change. Don’t make it entirely negative, as that will destroy any motivation they had in this job.

Don’t rush through coaching your first-time student employees, as it’s not something that ever really stops. Through your continuous coaching and mentoring, they will grow into their position and feel more confident and comfortable as they navigate school as well. Take this seriously and spend time with them to discuss specific training and demonstrate how and when to utilize their growing skills. Speak with them so you two can work together and give them the support they need throughout their duration of time they spend working with you.