Source: asset.edu.au

How to Implement Training and Development at Your Company In 2024

The way you train employees in your organization can affect whether they benefit from that training. It might be tempting to email out a long document, but that is not the best way to ensure employees retain the information. There are a few key strategies you should follow to keep employees motivated and engaged.

Make Training as Efficient as Possible

Offering different types of training can help workers develop their skills, but it won’t be effective without a few steps. Make sure you are getting feedback on the types of training your team wants. You might feel like you know what they need, but getting feedback can help you understand for sure. Create an anonymous survey where they can give their thoughts on different initiatives. This can also help you customize the learning for them.

You can also offer continued learning for everyone. Depending on your industry, this might be required, or it could simply be something that sets your team apart. One of the best ways of encouraging continual learning is by continuing your own education. This allows you to set a positive example for your team, and it lets you advance your own career. One way of doing this is by getting your degree in a relevant business field. You can find online scholarships to help cover the cost, and you can see your financial options here to help if your decision-making process.

Hold Sessions Over Lunch

Source: smallbiztrends.com

Many people learn better in a less formal environment, so consider hosting sessions over lunch. Many businesses allow team members or other professionals to give short presentations over a lunch provided by the business.

These lunch sessions don’t even have to be a full meal or served at the lunch hour. You could offer brunch or late afternoon snack time. See if any of your more experienced team members are interested in offering their personal anecdotes about a specific topic and are willing to answer questions from the rest of the team. These sessions encourage discussion and learning.

Give the Option of Video Training

A great way of reaching your younger employees is through video training. Today, more of the younger generation is interested in learning through video content. Even though live sessions are often engaging, it means the employee won’t have that content to review after the session.

When your employee has a video resource available, they can rewatch portions with more challenging content. It also means you don’t have to coordinate a live session with everyone’s schedules or host multiple times.

Communicate with Employees

When you don’t communicate well with your workers, they are unable to perform at their full potential. One way to combat this issue is by setting your expectations ahead of time and communicating them to your employees. When you set these expectations, you will agree, and the employee can ask questions. You can set expectations around how long the employee must complete the training and how you expect them to implement the information.

Offer Smaller Opportunities

Source: chrysos.org.uk

Not every learning opportunity has to be a big, three-hour session. As attention spans decrease and schedules become busier, it is harder than ever to find the time to focus on learning, which is where microlearning comes into play. This is shorter, more focused training that typically happens in five-minute chunks.

This allows you to deliver the most important information in a shorter format, which is easy for workers to focus on when they have a few spare moments. This is typically best for simpler skills instead of more complicated ones.

Offer E-Learning

E-learning allows your team to have access to many opportunities. They can learn from anywhere, and this is especially helpful if your team works remotely part or all the time. More businesses have offered flexible learning options, and this can extend all the way to training. E-learning allows employees to access information whenever they need it.

This model can work because it gives your workforce more control over when they complete each model. Self-paced learning can give your team a greater level of flexibility, and they can even choose topics that are relevant to them. You could create an online library of learning on different topics and have employees pick which modules they want to finish if they complete the required number of modules. Many learners have used their mobile devices to obtain course content in a low-pressure environment.

Allow Shadowing of Other Team Members

Having a team member explain how they do their job can be helpful, but when a trainee sees how it is done, they will get much more relevant information. While new employees can benefit from shadowing, so can ones who have been around for a while. Cross-training can help your workforce expand their skill set and it means other employees can cover if one worker is out that day.

Shadowing allows each trainee to retain the information much better than if they were to hear it explained. It can give the trainee hands-on experience in a safe environment, where they can make mistakes. They also have a chance to gain confidence before they perform the work on their own.

Source: stewartleadership.com

Meet with Each Person One-on-One

When employees and managers meet on a regular basis, they can learn new skills efficiently. Regular meetings also show you are committed to the team’s overall success. These one-on-one sessions are a great time to focus on developing strengths and working on areas that might require more attention. The last portion of these one-on-one meetings can be used to talk about the more challenging subjects.

These might be things that you find hard to talk about or ones your employee might not feel comfortable talking about. This could be a specific struggle your employee is facing or a fellow colleague who has become difficult to work with. No matter what you need to discuss, it is important to make it clear that their confidentiality will be always respected. This helps create a safe environment to address concerns.

About Nina Smith