New Hire Training

[Samura]

Wouldn't it be a good idea to train, test, and keep those records of experienced new hires despite their experience, personal reference, and background checks? If so, what would be a good approach to accomplish that? Are there State/Bureau certified or approved trainings for that purpose, or is it easier to tailor own program? ... Or, would it be just a waste of time since they fulfill all requirements? (This is for unarmed officers that do not carry anything. And, of course it does not apply to those who lack the experience and are required to be fully trained.)

[SecTrainer]

What sort of training are you referring to, Samura? All new people, regardless of experience or former state-mandated training, will at least need training that relates to your own company's mission, structure, procedures, policies, wage/benefits, etc. and they'll usually need site- or post-specific training as well.

[Samura]

In my particular case, I have not met anyone who needed the State-mandated training. And, of course from the start, I had prepared my own training program to make sure my people meet the standard I have in mind. Of course that includes proper training, "company's mission, structure, procedures, policies, wage/benefits, etc.", and "site- or post-specific training."

However, most of the people that came to me turn out to be VERY experienced, and some with years of service in different branches, such as the Navy, Marines, and Air Force, along with private security experience. Mostly were through personal reference. When I see that I don't even have 1/3 of their experience, I don't see the point of making them go through my training, like I would have trained others. I don't think most even care if I get to them or not. They just completed applications through word of mouth.

So, my question was pertaining to such circumstances, where you have very experienced people and realize that simply going over "company's mission, structure, procedures, policies, wage/benefits, etc." and "site- or post-specific training" are enough. ... But, despite that, I feel like preparing some questions from my own security officer training manual, and give them that and the power to arrest training manual, and make them take the tests, and put that in file. I was wondering what would be the best thing to do.

[SecTrainer]

First, don't be overawed by anyone's military background. Most of the training that people get in the military isn't going to be directly relevant to the mission or methods of a civilian private security force - unless perhaps they served in the military or security police.

Second, the only way to be sure that everyone has been trained to a particular standard is to put all of them through the same training. And you'd be surprised how often people with extensive training and experience have come up to me afterward and said "I'd forgotten about that..." or "Somehow, I missed that training..." or "I had never thought about it that way...", etc. On the other hand, you'll have people who will assure you that they "don't need the training" because they "already know" something, and you learn later - perhaps to your chagrin - that they didn't know quite as much as they led you to believe.

For these reasons, I never worry for one minute about whether some of the material in a training session might be "repetitious" for some of the attendees. There's no one that can't benefit from a refresher on a topic, and there's certainly no one that walks away worse off for having attended the training even if some of it was repetitious.

However, there's also something to be said for maximizing the efficiency of training time and dollars by "individualizing" the material according to each officer's needs. One way to do this is to create specific training modules. You then give each officer a pre-test covering each of the modules, and you only require him to complete the training for those modules where he's failed the pre-test. After completing those modules, he must then pass a post-test to demonstrate mastery. He will thus have achieved a passing score - either pre-test or post-test - for all of the modules by the end of the process.

There are also fairly sophisticated computer-driven technologies that can take this idea further by analyzing a trainee's interactions with the material while it's being presented. If the trainee's interactions indicate a lack of understanding, he'll be returned to the material until he shows mastery. However, you need some bucks (can be $25,000 and up) for instructional designers, the platform itself and then testing the finished product for bugs, etc.

When it comes to in-service training, which is intended to keep people in the field current or to refresh certain topics, you might want to borrow the "Coffee Break" model used by the fire service. In each "Coffee Break", a situation is described and the correct procedures for handling the challenges are discussed in a format that takes only about 15 minutes to read. These can be presented at shift meetings or distributed in electronic form by email, a private website discussion forum, etc. Since you have a website already, it wouldn't be at all difficult to install a restricted forum to use for in-service training discussions.

[Nauticus]

Every single position in the company that I operate requires company sanctioned training that is done through a security and investigative training facility that is closely related to the company. The courses there are paid for by the company, and they are requirements for any positions that a person may need. The reason for this is, despite a person's previous background, my company dictates a very high level of professionalism and uniformity, and the cohesion and increased morale based on knowing your comrades will act the way that you expect them to makes this worth it.

This is not to say that we micromanage to an intense degree, but we do expect specific results using specific techniques or actions that, through decades of experience, have proven to be successful.

[SecTrainer]

Every single position in the company that I operate requires company sanctioned training that is done through a security and investigative training facility that is closely related to the company. The courses there are paid for by the company, and they are requirements for any positions that a person may need. The reason for this is, despite a person's previous background, my company dictates a very high level of professionalism and uniformity, and the cohesion and increased morale based on knowing your comrades will act the way that you expect them to makes this worth it.

This is not to say that we micromanage to an intense degree, but we do expect specific results using specific techniques or actions that, through decades of experience, have proven to be successful.

If you're referring to JIBC, we don't have that sort of thing here in the US. I wish we did!

[Samura]

RE: My original question - I agree with what was said here. My initial feeling was also to train everyone according to what I planned no matter what the experience, until I started doubting myself and asked. Yes, that will ensure "everyone has been trained to a particular standard." And, even if too easy for some, "there's no one that can't benefit from a refresher."

Also, if "we do expect specific results," then we have to make sure we apply what is necessary, which may be, whether they find it easy or hard, make everyone go through the training.