Employee Training Manuals: Written Expertise

Employee training manuals serve a primary purpose of training employees; however, there's additional value offered long after the training is complete. For example, not only can a well-written training manual equip an employee with new skills, that same manual can serve as a reference guide and a tool for other employees to use should the need arise. Training manuals also serve as a quality management tool and a historical record.

Training and Process Manuals
Training manuals are used to provide written expertise and training for employees. For example, new hires are often given a training manual introducing them the company and its policies. These company policy manuals typically cover general workplace guidelines that all employees should follow before moving on to the specifics of individual jobs. These employee handbooks are updated and referred to frequently throughout an employee's tenure. In addition to employee handbooks, many companies create individual training manuals covering specific processes and job duties.

Quality and Consistency
Manuals may be developed for specific job roles or for individual or departmental processes. Regardless of how the training is broken down and grouped, having written documentation of all required job processes ensures both consistency and continuity. For example, since each employee that performs a specific process follows the same steps as outlined in the process manual, the process is consistently carried out. Similarly, if another employee needs to fill in during an absence, that employee can refer to the training manual before carrying out the task.

Training manuals standardize workplace practices. Whether an organization has a single location or multiple branch offices, having best practices and specific processes documented in a training manual ensures that each employee at each location is guided by standardized documentation.

Historical Records
Training manuals also serve as historical records of processes previously performed. As the organization evolves, it can refer to the existing training materials and update the processes as needed. The existing training material serves as a foundation upon which to build both for minor process updates and the development of new processes.

Finally, the material in a company's training manual can also be repurposed as the company moves from paper-based to Web-based training systems. For example, much of the material from an employee handbook can be posted on the company's intranet or converted to a Web page.

Employee training manuals do much more than train a given an employee a given task. They improve quality and continuity, serve as historical records, and standardize workplace practices. They can also serve as a basis for new processes or be repurposed into other formats.

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