So, you have a young person ready to start, what next?
If this is the first time you have employed a young person, then the first thing you need to do after notifying your Insurance Company, is to let everyone else know.
You may meet some resistance because of misconceptions about young people, so it’s a great opportunity to let them know about who is joining you and when and setting some boundaries.
Remember they are there to learn and soak up all the knowledge and experience they can. It’s fine for them to join in making brews or tidying up, but this shouldn’t be all the time, and if everyone takes their turn then that’s ok. You hear too often “I will get the apprentice to do that”, usually a job no one else wants to do or because someone doesn’t want to use a technician because they need to sell hours.
If your workplace culture is spot on then you shouldn’t need to make any adjustments, but it is a useful reminder to let people know about language and behaviour. Many young people leave businesses because they feel used due to completing menial jobs, language used and feeling excluded, particularly at break times when the conversation is about “technical stuff” that they don’t quite understand. Young people may be shy, not engage straightway, it doesn’t mean they are not interested, you just may need to ask questions about their hobbies, favourite car or role model to get them talking.
Whilst it may be tough for existing employees to get to grips with, the young person will be feeling anxious, unsettled or even scared.
Remember how you felt on your first day at your first job?
Onboarding
Make sure you do a proper induction. Welcome them into your business, show them around, introduce them to people, explain your policies and procedures and talk about standards and expectations from the off. An induction is not just a day, its ongoing particularly for a young person who lacks experience.
If you can, avoid making them just stay in their chosen role and area of work, get them to find out about the whole business from start to finish, exploring other roles and activities which complete the customer experience. Spending time in each department helps them understand how it all fits together and it may even help with your future succession planning. You can even set them some fact finding, so they can ask people questions to find out more, so they are actively engaged and learning.
Supervisor V Mentor
Appoint a supervisor, who can be there to support them, to encourage them, train them but also safeguard them, making sure they don’t come to any harm and do things that they shouldn’t be doing.
A great supervisor should have knowledge and experience, be able to communicate well, guide and adjust workloads, and set the tone for success. They need to be aware of “rules” including health & safety, diversity and inclusion, and be approachable, patient and empathetic. This is not always your best technician or other employee. It is important to have someone with those qualities to help nurture growth and recognise potential.
You may also wish to appoint a mentor, which can be someone completely different, they don’t even have to be in the same work area. This person should be able to communicate effectively and be patient just like a supervisor. They should be an active listener, a sounding board and a role model. A mentor should help guide the young persons career path, ensuring they are on track and to support with any concerns. The two often overlap and if you have the right people with the right skills and qualities, it can be the same. This will be key if you are a small business.
Reviews
Whoever you appoint and whatever you decide to do, it is important to have regular reviews with the young person. Giving them encouragement, asking for feedback, giving your feedback and planning the next steps of their journey to success. Don’t forget to record this and adjust any training and development plans. Remember your normal way of giving feedback may need to be tweaked slightly. Be positive, but helpful.
Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Your college or Training Provider should be guiding you regarding health and safety, and you may have already had a visit to check what you have in place. If you need to find out more then visit the HSE website Young workers – HSE, where there is lots of useful information on there or contact julie@ready4work.uk
You should make sure that they know what they can and can’t do, due to their age, inexperience, lack of maturity and physical ability, and make sure they understand this, this is often called prohibitions and restrictions.
Safeguarding is an important and integral part, and your training provider should inform you of their arrangements, but you should have a “go to” person that they feel comfortable with, this could be the supervisor or mentor or you. It should be everyone’s responsibility to protect young people from harm in the workplace, but often risks are external to work. Its about keeping your eyes open and noticing small changes in behaviour and reporting them to the correct people.
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