Daily Titan California State University, Fullerton
Best Training Program Training is one of the most important aspects about having a new staff. This past Fall 2013 semester, the management team made it a point to create hands-on training that incorporated a lot of learning while also staying interactive and enjoyable. When revising our training for our new staff, the combination of functionality and fun was of utmost importance. We knew that no one would retain information from a training program that was bland and robotic. Our training schedule was one week of training five new faces in the summer and two new members prior to the start of the Spring 2014 semester. Knowing that new staff members can get lost in the difficulties of juggling Account Executive roles and their schoolwork, we emphasized getting the newcomers comfortable and well situated in the office, as this would eventually become their second home. On their first day of training, we wanted everyone to really get to know each other and break the ice. We brought in homemade foods and drinks and played a few games to get everyone to loosen up. We explained the Daily Titan ground rules to the staff and what is expected of them while being at the paper. A brief introduction to all the media platforms we offer was essential, as we would go in depth the next few days. From there, the next three days focused on the ins and outs of the job such as cold calls, meeting with clients, getting a feel for the media kit, and keeping up with daily office tasks. Rather than merely explain what a cold call is, we held mock coldcalls. Rather than just explaining what to do when meeting with a client, we had mock walk-ups. We wanted to give our staff that hands-on experience that was lacking in the past. It was a great learning experience for us to understand the different types of personalities we were coaching. We figured out who was least confident in their abilities or who was shy when meeting new people and through this realization, could spend quality time teaching them the ropes. We wanted the staff to not only be the best sales people they could be, but we wanted to better them as citizens of this society.