Managers know that company success is a result of knowledgeable and engaged workers with skills to meet their job duties. To develop and keep top talent productive, you need a comprehensive training and development program. Employee training is to improve worker’s performance by transferring skill-based knowledge to be used in their current job position. Employee development is to advance an employee’s skills and knowledge beyond what is required for their current job position. If you manage a support team such as a help desk or call center, you know that your customers expect correct answers quickly. They also demand a level of customer service, which meets or exceeds their expectations. Good employee training and development programs don’t just happen. So how do you put together a highly effective employee training and development program?
Employee Training: Training Specialists
These are the specialists that plan, schedule, and administrate the training program for new or existing
employees. Trainers will also ensure that the curriculum is refreshed and is still relevant. After performing training and on completion, trainers will update and maintain employee training records. Typically, trainers are part of or have a close relationship to the human resource department. In some cases, trainers can be directly embedded in the Information Technology department. Embedded trainers can focus on department or team level specific training needs. A training specialist has good public speaking skills and ability to convey complex issues understandable.
Employee Training: Curriculum
The training outline and content to achieve the objectives of the training program is referred to as the curriculum. The curriculum includes teaching aids, handbooks, visual aids, webinars, and computer tutorials. When developing a training curriculum, you must ensure the curriculum is effective, is the lowest cost possible and results in an increase in employee effectiveness. Training can be designed to occur in different settings such as the classroom, on-the-job, self-study, web-based, workshop, and software-based simulations. Identification of the following variables will help you to develop the overall training curriculum.
- The total number of employees requiring training.
- Obstacles to scheduling training such as coving the day to day work.
- The number and skill level of the instructors.
- The methods for evaluating the effectiveness of employee training
- The training facilities and resources needed to perform the training.
- A plan on how the training record will be maintained.
- The overall training costs.
Employee Training: New Hire Onboarding
This is the first impressions for your new employee to your company. Proper onboarding will affect their initial engagement, integration, and set a positive expectation with their new positions. A new hire onboarding program should include;
- An agenda and checklist of on-boarding tasks for the first week.
- Dedicated time to complete required paperwork and training
- A tour of the building and services available
- Plan a manager’s meeting such as lunch for the first day.
- Cover important work processes and safety procedures as applicable.
Employee Training: Ongoing training and skill development
An ongoing training program is important for employees to refresh their current required knowledge of work practices. Ongoing training will also assist employees to incrementally improve their skills. Companies will use ongoing training to keep up with industry changes and the latest technology to stay ahead of competitors. This training will also reduce skill gaps and allow employees to more successfully meet the requirements of their job description.
Employee Training: New process training
When things change at a company, employees need to have the training to succeed. When a company implements a new complex policy or if a new enterprise application is to be introduced, specific training may be needed. The training should cover what the new process or application is, why we are changing when it will be implemented, set expectations on how it will be used, and where to go for additional assistance.
Employee Training: Just in time / CBT training
The above training is great, however, sometimes employees will not internalize the information until a later time where they actually have to use it. Just in time and CBT training is a good option to provide on the spot training when an employee is confronted with the new application or process. This training could be provided by an in-person visit by a trainer, a computer-based training video or a quick reference card at the employees work location.
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