The importance of training enterprise employees is well recognized by all. In fact, most businesses have employee training programs of some kind. Yet, we see mistakes and accidents happening because of ill-trained employees all the time.
The employees are not to be blamed. Businesses hire employees for their potential. The employer must ensure that the people hired, perform their job with competence.
You need to come up with effective training programs that impart the necessary skills and knowledge to run the company smoothly and successfully. If you’re wondering how then here are some tips to train your enterprise employees effectively.
1. Create a Plan and Set Clear Goals
Ask yourself a simple question – what should the employees know to effectively carry out their duty?
A solid plan with a clear understanding of what to include and exclude will lead to structured training. A plan will also help you weed out useless topics thereby preventing wasting of time and effort.
Once the program material is ready it’s time to decide how to impart the information. Video-based learning is popular and has produced great results. Creating training videos for employees has a vital role in modern workplace development. They offer a structured and consistent way to deliver essential information, company values, and skill-building modules to staff members.
By combining visual and auditory elements, they cater to various learning styles, ensuring a higher level of engagement and knowledge retention. They do not only streamline the onboarding process for new hires but also serve as a versatile resource for ongoing training, promoting continuous growth within the organization.
They also provide a cost-effective and scalable means of cultivating a skilled and informed workforce, ultimately contributing to improved job performance and overall organizational success. In the absence of an in-house team to prepare video content, you could hire content creation and video editing services.
Find ways to address the knowledge gap. For example, some of your trainees may have a tough time learning to use email marketing software if they lack basic computer skills. Devise a supplementary training program to bridge the knowledge gap of your employees.
Set short- and long-term goals to determine the success of your employee training program. The benefits of setting goals are many.
You discover the areas of the training plan that needs tweaking. Plus, you identify trainees who need special attention. Post the onboarding process, conduct regular performance reviews to track the success of the training program.
2. Inform the Employees ‘Why They Are Learning This’
Our brains are programmed to forget information that’s not put to use. Similarly, we have a hard time focusing and remembering information that we consider not important.
Don’t expect positive results if the training program aims at imparting tons of information without giving the employees adequate justification to learn and remember that information.
Initially, the trainees might express interest but by the time the training program ends they may wonder ‘why am I learning this?’
Keep the lessons short and focus on the intro and summary portions of the lessons. At the start of a lesson, inform the employees why they need to know the information. Plus, in the end, state what they can accomplish with the knowledge they have gained.
Understanding why certain information is important helps the brain store it in a special place, from where; you can recall and retrieve it at any time.
3. Use Multiple Platforms for Training
One way to prevent overburdening the brain with information is to add variety to the lesson plan. Keep the training short and use multiple platforms to impart the necessary knowledge and skills.
Adding multiple platforms will keep the lessons engaging and employees interested in the information. Furthermore, there is an added benefit to using multiple platforms. The trainee gets to learn at anytime and anywhere.
Including real-life projects after lessons reinforces what they have learned and reduces the learning curve. Mix online video learning with in-person training sessions. Provide enterprise employees with guides and manuals in digital format for them to refer to whenever they want.
As an employer, you have hired employees because they are qualified, proficient in an area/skill, and exhibited special ability which you feel will benefit your company.
Indeed, each employee is unique and has something valuable to offer. As part of your training plan, encourage the trainees to share their expertise. Additionally, staying informed about the latest gift trends for staff can be a thoughtful way to show appreciation and recognition for their contributions.
Furthermore, their inputs and suggestions could bring out new perspectives that could benefit others and the company.
When the employees become trainers the subject matter need not be about job skills or strictly related to the job. It could be a presentation about productivity hacks, how to unwind after work, finding innovative solutions to common problems, etc.
Employees as trainers are not mere spectators. They need to become subject matter experts to impart the necessary information to others. This will encourage employees to work even harder to understand their job and their role in the company.
To ensure a comprehensive and effective employee training program, incorporating clear grievance procedure steps is essential. Providing a platform for employees to raise concerns and address issues will foster a culture of transparency and trust within the organization. With this grievance mechanism in place, employees can feel confident that their voices will be heard, leading to higher satisfaction and retention rates. Additionally, it demonstrates the company’s commitment to employee well-being and professional growth, further enhancing overall productivity and organizational success.
5. Cross Train Your Enterprise Employees
The concept of division of labor evolved to speed up production and productivity. But, this doesn’t mean that an employee working in one department shouldn’t learn anything about other departments.
Understanding other departments and the skill set required to excel in those areas of the company can help employees excel in their primary jobs.Training should be accessible for all kiind of jobs no matter they are desk workers, janitors or fast food employees to provide the similar treatment and advocate equality within your company.
For example, companies can train content strategists and creators to understand the psyche of prospects in each stage of the buyer’s cycle. Thinking like marketers can help content strategists develop text and visual content that’ll generate leads.
Some employees might find they are more suited for another department of the company. Alternatively, cross-training could help employees become better managers in the future.
6. Ongoing Education Ensures Higher Productivity and Professional Growth
Your training program shouldn’t end with employee onboarding. That’s just part of the long-term process.
Ongoing education can be in-house or outside the company. Refresh training can help your employees stay up to date with changing standards. Furthermore, such regular courses will ensure there is no loss of important skills or knowledge. In this regard, you might consider using feedback software to further evaluate and track employees’ progress. It has revolutionized the way organizations approach professional development and performance evaluation. By obtaining feedback from various sources, including managers, colleagues, and even the individuals themselves, this software provides a holistic view of an individual’s strengths, areas for improvement, and overall contributions. By obtaining 360 feedback from various sources, including managers, and colleagues, the software provides a holistic view of their strengths and areas for improvement. With this input, you can offer constructive feedback, and create impactful development strategies.
Conduct seminars or send your employees to events and conferences. Your employees would greatly benefit from meeting and interacting with employees from other companies. You can use the Office 365 group calendar to schedule such meetings more effectively and gather everyone around. They would be an exchange of ideas and discussions on the latest trends.
One way to encourage enterprise employees to pursue ongoing education is to give them the freedom to choose their own path of learning. The employees will feel valued and be motivated to work harder to further the vision and mission of the company.
Final Thoughts
Employee onboarding benefits a company in more ways than one. Many experts consider employee training more important than hiring quality talent.
Effectively training your enterprise employees will lead to more efficiency, higher productivity, more innovation, and better employee satisfaction.
Employees who are satisfied with their job and feel valued for their performance will stay longer with the company. Hence, indirectly effective training ensures lower employee turnover.
To make your employees now and future-ready make use of the six techniques we just discussed.
- Start by creating a plan and setting clear goals. It’s not enough to train how to do a task, you need to inform them why they need to learn it.
- Make use of videos and other platforms to educate the employees. Let trainees share their expertise and encourage them to go beyond the boundaries of their job description.
- Finally, training can end but learning should never stop.
Author bio:
Cristian Stanciu is a freelance video editor, owner and post-production coordinator of Veedyou Media – a company offering video animation services to marketing agencies, video production studios or brands all over the globe. I can catch up with him on his blog or on LinkedIn
