Hiring, Cross Training, and Mentoring of Staff

Provide for overlap of newly hired staff with departing staff.
Provide cross-training for your staff.
- Many supervisors have benefited from enabling their employees to learn skills beyond those for which they were originally hired at SLAC; this is oftentimes accomplished by classroom training, but a strong program can also be developed by allowing the "apprentice" to "shadow" the experienced employee for a pre-set period of time. The less-experienced person will initially watch and later attempt to perform some of the actions being taught, and eventually perform them without help but with supervision. Of course, essential safety training shall be completed by all employees before performing certain actions, per their Employee Training Assessment (ETA).
- Although this initially appears to use two employees for work that one employee could perform (and therefore be manpower intensive and not budget-wise during these busy times), the benefits are three-fold:
  - Employees with hands-on experience are available with little refresher training when a veteran employee is out suddenly on sick leave or there is a sudden peak in workload;
  - Employees become more interested in their job, being given the opportunity to either expand their knowledge or teach someone else;
  - Cross-trained employees provide an immediate "hiring pool" when an employee retires or otherwise departs SLAC.
- Cross-training which involves Bargaining Unit employees should be discussed with Employee Relations to ensure that all steps are allowable within our Contract Agreement.
Assign a mentor to each new hire.
- Someone either in your group or elsewhere at SLAC that possesses experience and knowledge beyond that of the newly hired (or newly transferred) employee can serve as a valuable resource and confidence-builder for the less-familiar person, thereby making their stay at SLAC more profitable for everyone. Here are a few approaches from which you can choose:
  - Assign a mentor to each new hire - preferably within your own department. See Employee Relations for assistance in determining the best match;
  - Ask experienced employees to "adopt" a new hire and let you know whom they choose; credit them with this extra effort in their performance evaluation;
  - Set up pizza lunches on a monthly basis for the 6 months of a new hire's mentor program, inviting all mentors and mentorees on a rolling 6-month basis to share ideas;
  - Meet with your department mentors on a quarterly basis to show support and gain insights into strengthening the program within your department.

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