How Are You Training Your Employees?

Even when you are able to find the perfect candidate, with a right blend of required skills, experience and characteristics there is still a considerable amount of training required to help any new employee get onboard, keep going or get re-going when changes occur.

Effective training is a vital component of any workplace. Employees need to be trained to do their jobs the company preferred way, understand policies, procedures, acquire new technology skills, lean new aspects of their jobs, get along with co-workers, manage others, and much more. Everyday brings new challenges and it is often a struggle to prioritize, pay for and deliver essential and effective workplace training.

Recently we asked HRinsider readers to tell us how they are training their employees and this is what we heard:

Poll: How Are You Training Your Employees?

  •  In-house designed online training courses
  •  In-house designed in-person/group training courses
  •  Externally facilitated/provided training courses
  • On-the-job, hands-on-training
  • Reimbursement for employee selected training courses

HRInsider readers overwhelmingly told us they deliver in-house designed and delivered training. In fact 89% of their training was delivered this way. In particular 56% told us that they employ on-the-job/hands-on delivery to train their employees.

The advantages of self designed and delivered training are many fold. The low cost of tapping into your own staff to deliver training is certainly one. Organization specific knowledge and focus is certainly another as is the ease of ongoing access to other employees.

In order to implement successful in-house and on-the-job training here are a few tips to keep in mind.

  1. Clearly identify the goals and objectives of all training – this includes orientation and basic job skills
  2. Identify who is responsible for training and how training evaluation occurs
  3. Create step-by-step training processes and time-lines
  4. Give those delivering training the tools to deliver the training, including training in how to train others
  5. Assess and evaluate training outcomes along the way not only at the end
  6. Identify multi-faceted and differential training methods (include different types of training including reading and paper based, online, classroom, group, hands-on, mentoring, video and so on) to meet the needs of different learners
  7. Offer workbooks (including online) and other training and tracking tools to support retention and integration of learning

The use of virtual reality (VR) and simulator training is proving to be superior training method compared to many of the current training practices.  Virtual reality training through the use of video simulation and computer-aided response can provide opportunities for immediate feedback and corrective repetition. The cost of VR training might still be prohibitive for some small or medium sized businesses.  As an industry the online education industry is becoming big business and it is only a matter of time before VR training becomes much more cost effective.

Today in-house designed and delivered and on-the-job training remain important aspects of employee training and development. Delivered well they will remain the cornerstone of organizational training.