A training manual is an online guide that instructs employees on how to perform a task, carry out a process, and do their jobs efficiently. It is an online support system with valuable information presented in a structured way employees can use to excel at their jobs. With 24x7 accessibility, a training manual is a trusted information resource that is always at employees’ disposal whenever they need help.
When employees join a company, they need constant guidance to understand their roles and solve problems, at least in the initial few days. An online training manual helps new hires at every step, giving them quick access to critical information related to their new job, company policies, employee hierarchy, and much more.
Conducting offline training regularly is not something every business can afford. With an online training manual, training expenses can be slashed significantly. It saves you from the huge expenses of hiring onsite trainers, buying training materials, and booking training venues. All you need is a one-time investment of decent training manual software, and you are done for the entire year.
If you want to create a culture of self-training in your organization, building an online training manual is where you should begin. It is easy to use, convenient, and, most importantly, time-saving. With the freedom and flexibility the manual provides, employees can self-learn whenever they want and from wherever they are.
A strong support system to help employees when they get stuck at work or are confused about anything is a productivity and performance booster. With minimum shoulder taps and email trails, employees can stay away from all distractions and focus fully on keeping their best foot forward every day at work.
Ideally, a training manual should include all the necessary information employees need to do their jobs effectively and with confidence. Here are some of the key topics you should add to your training manual:
This training manual template is created to ease the work of writing the training manual from the ground up. With a ready-made structure comprising topic-wise categories and sub-categories, the template provides a good head start so you can start writing articles right away. No more wasting time thinking about the design and structure of the manual when you have this beautifully structured manual at your disposal.
A training manual is a rich information resource that must be created with clarity and precision. Here are five simple steps that will help you build the best training manual for your employees.
Start by developing a plan that outlines the purpose of the manual, the process of creating it, and the content it should contain. This plan will guide you in the right direction and provide you the much-needed assistance at every step of the process.
Next, plan the format of the manual. Decide the structure right at the beginning to avoid any confusion later. Create topics and decide what will go in each of them. If you have an employee training manual template, that’s even better. Just decide the topics and ensure that they flow logically from start to end.
Creating an online training manual is a team effort that demands the collective participation of employees. Involve key employees from different departments in your team and let them work together to craft content for the manual. This collaborative approach speeds up the process while ensuring that the quality of the content is up to the mark.
As the writers work on articles, they should be reviewed by editors in the team and even by experts outside the team. This will bring all errors to the surface and help the team improve the quality of the articles before they finally go for publishing. Once the articles pass through multiple reviews and get approval, they can be published.
The final step involves collecting feedback directly from employees. They are the people who regularly use your manual, so the insights they can provide are unmatched. You can add a feedback form at the bottom of each article asking employees how helpful the content is with thumbs-up and thumbs down as the answers.
This free training manual template is designed diligently to lessen your load, so you can stay focused on creating quality content. The manual provides the necessary structure with a pre-built table of contents, a home page, and relevant sections. To use this training manual template, apply your company branding, fonts, themes, and colors. Delete the dummy content and add useful information to the manual, one topic at a time.
Putting a training manual together requires more than just a couple of steps. To pique employees’ interest in the manual and make them use it every day at work, here’s what you should do:
A text-heavy document can be intimidating for employees. Combining the written text with the right visuals is a good way to increase engagement and provide a richer learning experience to employees. Add images and videos to articles where they add real value and help employees process the information faster.
As employees will be regularly using the manual, it’s important to customize it to match your company’s branding. Add your brand’s name, logo, and keep the design consistent with your company’s unique style. Create a training manual that looks and feels like an extension of your brand.
Create a training manual that works across multiple devices, especially mobile phones. The easier it is for employees to access the manual, the more they will be using it. Besides, a mobile-friendly manual promises a convenient learning experience, wherein employees can indulge in self-learning anytime, and from anywhere they are.
Simplicity is hard. It requires extra effort to explain things in a way that anyone can understand. That’s what your training manual should do. Use simple, jargon-free language and adopt an instructional tone while creating content for your training manual. Keep the paragraphs short, to the point, and easy to follow.
