Training employees is a critical part of any business. You should think of it as an investment and not an added expense.
If you don’t prioritize employee training, the drawback could be fatal. This includes a lack of productivity and even a high turnover rate. According to studies, more than 40% of employees who do not receive training leave the company in their first year. This can be costly for your company in the long run.
But of course, just throwing out half-baked training programs is not good too. At the end of the day, you must see results. Thus, it’s always good to use methods and techniques that can effectively train your employees. Here are the top 10 that you can use.
1. Culture Training for New Employees
Other companies would go straight to training their employees with the technical skills needed for the job. But you must remember that culture training is as important too.
When we say culture training, it refers to teaching the organization’s values and, of course, culture. This will help new employees to manage their expectations and, at the same time, adapt faster.
You can have a handbook for this, or you may post your company’s values in an area where it could be seen, most if not all the time. Pre-recording these materials could also help. It could be time-consuming at first but can save you a lot in the long run.
2. Start a Mentoring Program
When we say a mentoring program, this involves a partnership between a senior employee and a newbie. It should make the learning process faster as someone who already has first-hand experience can share the ins and outs of the business.
Another good thing about this technique is that since people are compelled to work closely with each other, they form good relationships. And as we all know, the relationship we have with our colleagues is essential if you wish to have increased productivity and higher morale.
It’s best to set a definitive schedule for mentoring so that everyone could also focus on their core tasks.
3. Coaching for Productivity Improvement
Coaching is a good training method, most especially for employees who need improvement. This is less formal than mentoring but holds a significant value as well.
Most of the time, coaching requires one on one sessions with a manager or superior. With this, the lessons are patterned on the employee’s current performance. It’s also easier to track their improvement from the coaching session.
4. Job Shadowing for Detailed Tasks
There are tasks and responsibilities that you can share without the need to show how it works. For example, if your employee needs to lead a team, then you can provide tips and scenarios.
However, if a job role entails detailed tasks, then it is best to do job shadowing. With job shadowing, one could sit down and observe how a task is exactly done. Think about reports on spreadsheets or how to present a company deck.
5. Cross-Training Employees
When training employees, we usually focus first on their scope of work, and that’s fine. But you also need to expose your employees to other departments. This will allow them to see the bigger picture and your organization’s complete workflow.
Also, they could be a reliever just in case a person from a different department has to leave or take a time off.
6. Outsource to Third-Party Vendors
While some of the training programs can be facilitated by your own employees, you may also want to ask about the services of third-party vendors. They are experts in providing and facilitating materials and programs.
This is ideal for topics such as sexual harassment or diversion & inclusion. Also, if there are hardware or machines which need to be operated, asking someone from your supplier to train your team is most beneficial.
7. Group Discussions
Another effective way to train your employees is to have group discussions. From here, you can get valuable insights from different employees. This could help you formulate a better training program suitable for what they need.
8. Using Webinars for Remote Workers
In today’s age where more companies allow work-from-home setup, asking your employees to attend webinars could be a great alternative. This is a cost-efficient way to train your workforce as they do not have to travel and use facilities like a conference room.
If you are to conduct a webinar, you must do a thorough check of your equipment.
- Is your computer working just fine?
- Is your internet fast enough to host it?
- Is the mic working perfectly?
You can have a test run before the actual webinar date to see if there are technical issues to address.
9. Maximize Online Resources
Online resources are best if you cannot find a common time to conduct a training or webinar. With this, they can access the pre-recorded training materials whenever they are available.
The main concern here is the participation of your employees. Or maybe, they will just run the materials without focusing on its content. In that case, make sure that your online resources are of quality and encourage participation.
Take note that there are also mobile training apps that your company could maximize. Let’s face it. Not all your employees have laptops or computers at home. But most of them have smartphones. If your training materials could be accessed using their mobile phones, they could easily complete the program.
10. Blended Virtual and In-Person Training
Lastly, you can try to use both traditional and contemporary ways of training your employees. This can save you time as well.
You can provide the training materials or online resources and require them to finish it on a set date. And then, you could hold in-person training to further deepen the employees’ understanding of the program.
Conclusion
Training your employees is not just for those who are about to work for your company. Even the seasoned ones need refreshers once in a while. Make it a part of your organizational calendar so you can also retain the best talents for your business.
Remember, you should set a goal at the onset to gauge if your training program is effective. And don’t forget to ask for their feedback to improve your training in the succeeding sessions.
