Your First Year of Training

A step-by-step plan for a business with no training person: what to train first, who trains, onboarding, core skills, required training, a 12-month calendar and simple records.

Who it is for

• People who run a small business and train every new hire themselves, when they have time.

• Office managers who have been asked to "sort out training."

• Managers and shift leads who were hired first and now have to train others.

• Supervisors in the field whose new crew workers learn on the job.

• HR generalists in small companies who need a practical first-year plan, not a training department.

The problem it solves

In most small businesses, new people learn from whoever is free, in whatever order the work happens. Each person learns a different version of each task, the same mistakes come back, one or two people are the only ones who can do certain jobs, and nobody is sure which training is required or whether they could prove it happened. This playbook gives you nine steps for the next twelve months: take stock, choose what to train first, decide who trains and protect the time, set up onboarding, teach core skills with Teach a Task™, a proprietary method of KA Company, cover required training, plan the year on one calendar, keep simple records, and check and improve each month, quarter and year.

Important: which training is required depends on your location, industry, contracts and insurer. The playbook shows you how to find out and organize it; it is not legal advice.

What is inside

• Copyright and License (page 2; 1 page)

• Part 1. The first year and the nine steps (pages 3 to 5; 3 pages)

• Part 2. Step 1: Take stock (pages 6 to 9; 4 pages)

• Part 3. Step 2: What to train first (pages 10 to 13; 4 pages)

• Part 4. Step 3: Who trains, and when (pages 14 to 17; 4 pages)

• Part 5. Step 4: Onboarding (pages 18 to 23; 6 pages)

• Part 6. Step 5: Core skills (pages 24 to 30; 7 pages)

• Part 7. Step 6: Required training (pages 31 to 34; 4 pages)

• Part 8. Step 7: The 12-month calendar (pages 35 to 38; 4 pages)

• Part 9. Step 8: Simple records (pages 39 to 44; 6 pages)

• Part 10. Step 9: Check and improve (pages 45 to 52; 8 pages)

• Part 11. Worked examples (pages 53 to 55; 3 pages)

• Part 12. Variations by setting and size (pages 56 to 57; 2 pages)

• Part 13. 90-day start plan (pages 58 to 59; 2 pages)

• Part 14. Mistakes and FAQ (pages 60 to 61; 2 pages)

• Editable Word version of everything above (56 pages)

• Excel workbook (.xlsx) (9 sheets: settings, task list, people, required training list, training log with automatic next due dates and statuses, team skills overview with warnings, sessions and a 12-month year view, with a worked example)

Examples follow a hardware store through its whole first year, with worked examples from an electrical contractor, a dental practice and a bookkeeping office, and variations for retail, restaurants, trades, clinics, offices, warehouses, remote teams and businesses of different sizes.

How to use it

1. Read Part 1 to see what a first training year looks like and how much time it takes.

2. Work through Steps 1 to 9. Each step explains what to do, why it matters and how to do it well, then gives you a template and a filled-in example.

3. Follow the 90-day start plan, then the simple monthly rhythm for the rest of the year.

4. Keep your records in the Word templates or the Excel workbook.

Formats and file types

• Printable PDF (61 pages), US Letter.

• Editable Word file (.docx, 56 pages) with all fourteen templates and filled-in examples.

• Excel workbook (.xlsx) for task lists, required training, a training log with automatic due dates and statuses, a team skills overview and a 12-month year view. Works in Excel and in spreadsheet programs that support EDATE and COUNTIFS.

Frequently asked questions