To create a happy, productive workforce, training managers must provide opportunities for further training and growth. Unfortunately, too many employees or management dismiss training as boring or unnecessary. And, let’s face it, employee training can be boring, but only when the wrong type of training is matched up with the topic or issue you’re tackling. Matching the types of employee training to your employee needs can ensure they receive the information they need, in the format best suited for it (Vanry, 2018). Any company that invests in employee development is investing in their own success. By training your employees, you are creating a workplace that is adaptive, flexible, and ready for change. Any company that expects its employees to be productive without providing the fertile ground for such expectation, they will end up working against the spirit of the workers.
Technological advancements have revolutionized the training industry, giving managers more training method options than ever. Companies now have access to all kinds of digital tools like training videos and computer-based training, and can still leverage tried-and-true methods like traditional classroom training. Trainers also have to bear in mind the 3 key learning styles; visual (learning by seeing), auditory (learning by hearing) and Kinesthetic (learning by doing) learning. But with so many different options, it’s hard to know what’s right for your company and employees (Wyzowl, 2018).
While there are many training programs available, a few core courses are essential to your employees’ success at work as well as in their personal lives (Sutherland, 2017). Some of the major training courses for employees at all levels would be discussed in this article.
Instructor-led classroom training: Classroom-style training is the most traditional and widely used training method, accounting for 42% of a company’s training hours on average and used exclusively or mostly (90% to 100% of the time) by 13% of organizations. This method mimics other educational environments like a college course. A subject matter expert or training manager prepares a classroom experience – usually a lecture-style presentation with a PowerPoint as a visual accompaniment – and presents in front of a group of trainees.
This method has been around for a long time, and for good reason. It comes with plenty of benefits. Namely, classroom-style training allows for personal interaction. It gives trainees the right environment and resources to interact with instructors to ask questions that might go unanswered in a non-interactive forum. It also empowers relationship building between the trainer and trainee, and fellow trainees who are learning and growing together (Wyzowl, 2018).
However, instructor-led training does have some drawbacks, including cost and time to implement. It can also be unnecessary for concise topics (Vanry, 2018). The biggest disadvantage to instructor-led classroom training is its lack of scalability. This method requires an instructor to be present at all times, and can get complicated when class sizes get too big for one-on-one interactions. Another major disadvantage of this method is its rigidity. If one trainee is outpacing others, ready to learn more and feeling unchallenged, he or she isn’t able to create a personalized learning path. If you decide instructor-led classroom training is right for your company, be sure to keep the energy high; these sessions can run long, and without breaks, discussions and time to move around, trainees can lose interest quickly (Wyzowl, 2018).
Onboard training: onboarding training is a series of department-specific sessions that take place over a longer period of time. It is strategically created with the goal of enabling new employees to be as successful as they can be in their new roles in the shortest period of time. Onboarding trainings ideally start on the first day of employment and may carry on throughout the first year as needed. It is prepared by department leaders with the focus of reaching departmental goals and connecting them with overall company objectives. Topics should, therefore, address employee needs and provide them with easy access to information and skills that they need to do their jobs efficiently and maximize employee engagement. A holistic onboarding training program should focus on more than the technical aspects of a job. It should also offer education on ways to stay engaged and productive at worked. Effective and successful onboarding trainings gradually bring new employees up to speed much quicker than if left to fend for themselves. An effectively executed onboarding training will also free up a lot of leadership time because most answers to questions would be available within the training (Elmokadem, 2018).
Hands-on training: Hands-on training skips the conceptual and dives right into the practical, allowing trainees to quickly get their hands on whatever they’re learning. This approach is widely preferred by employees; 52% of adults say the best way to learn is through active participation. On top of being well-received by trainees, hands-on learning also has several other advantages. It’s often a quicker process because you dive in on day one. It can also boost knowledge recollection; long days in a training lecture may leave some trainees fried, but hands-on training requires focus, which can improve information retention.
For some people, however, this can pose a challenge. Many people struggle to understand the intricacies of their role without first having the right context. If you are going to offer hands-on training, you should first get to know your trainee to understand whether this method will be effective for him or her. Hands-on training can work, but only if that’s how a person learns. You can overcome this obstacle by incorporating a job shadowing experience into the process. Giving a trainee time to see how a pro does something can help provide the context and expectations they need to succeed.
One company that uses a hands-on approach to training is Seattle Genetics, a global oncology pharmaceutical and tech company. The cancer-fighting giant offers unique one-year fellowships that immerse employees in hands-on trainings. Through the program, fellows pair up with experienced trainers to complete hands-on projects like marketing strategies, data analyses and risk management plans, foregoing traditional classroom training to accelerate the learning process from day one (Wyzowl, 2018).
References
Elmokadem, P (2018). 6 Types of Online Employee Training Programs. Retrieved from https://www.uscreen.tv/blog/6-types-online-employee-training-programs/
Vanry, N (2018). Top 10 Types of Employee Training. Retrieved from https://www.edgepointlearning.com/blog/top-10-types-of-employee-training/
Wyzowl (2018). 6 Popular Employee Training Methods (With Examples). Retrieved from https://www.wyzowl.com/employee-training-methods/
Images are from: www.freepik.com
(C) 2021, Alan Elangovan, All Copy Rights Reserved.