Are you looking for sample training manuals? If you're responsible for creating or updating training manuals for your company, reviewing sample documents used by other companies can be very helpful.
About Training Manuals
Training manuals provide information about how to perform specific job tasks. They are beneficial to new employees, as they include detailed information about policies and procedures that need to be followed as well as instructions regarding what needs to be done and how. They are also powerful tools for supervisors, providing a framework that can be used to teach new hires how to perform essential job functions and to provide ongoing training and performance management functions for current workers.
Types of Training Manuals
- Company Training Manuals - Many organizations have a general employee training manual that provides information about general policies and procedures that apply to all workers. These types of documents often include information about internal processes and procedures, instructions for how to use the company's information management system, emergency and safety procedures, and more.
- Position Specific Training Manuals - Organizations should have training manuals specific to each job. These manuals should provide employees with instructions regarding how to perform tasks and duties specific to their job descriptions. For example, the training manual for employees who work in accounts payable department should include instructions for logging and recording invoices, processing them for payment, requesting payment approval, and other position responsibilities.
- Task Oriented Training Manuals - In many cases, organizations develop training documents separate from their company and position-specific training manuals that focus on certain tasks. For example, employees from many departments may share the responsibility for answering incoming telephone calls for the company. Consistent instructions for these types of tasks should be available to employees in an easy-to-follow format, such as a flow chart or other type of documentation.
Sample Training Manual Examples
Harassment Prevention
Every company should have a solid harassment prevention plan in place. This involves establishing policies and procedures for this subject and work as a tool to clearly communicate them to employees. It's also necessary to train employees regarding what to do if they feel harassed and ensure all supervisory employees know how to respond if complaints are brought to their attention.Before writing training procedures specific to harassment prevention in your company, consider reviewing the following online sample training manual documents:
- Rotary Abuse and Harassment Prevention Training Manual and Leader's Guide
- University of Minnesota harassment prevention excerpt
- Workplace Harassment Prevention Policy
Books that you may want to review when preparing your company's harassment prevention documentation include:
Safety Training
Your company's safety training manual should include information about the hazards specific to your workplace along with details of the steps employees should take to (a) stay out of harm's way and (b) respond in the event of an emergency.
Consider reviewing safety training manuals used by other companies when it's time to create or update this type of document for your company. A number of sample documents are available for review online, including:
Books that may provide useful information for developing a safety training manual include:
Sales Training
A sales training manual should include information specific to the sales process at your company and in your industry, as well as more general information about how to apply effective sales techniques.You can find sample sales training documents online and in printed publications. A few online documents that you may find to be beneficial are:
Books that you may want to review when preparing to write a training manual for your company's sales force include:
Using Sample Training Manuals
While it isn't likely that you'll find sample training manuals that is a perfect match for your needs, reviewing a selection of documents before you begin writing your own is a valuable exercise. You can get ideas about what needs to be included and how to word certain types of information. In some cases, reviewing sample documents may even give you ideas about what you need to avoid doing. Take advantage of the wealth of online resources and books that you can purchase or check out of your local library to get a head start on creating the training materials that your company needs.
