Photo by Lincoln consulting
Want
to keep your staff motivated about learning new concepts? The quality and
variety of the employee training you provide is key for motivation. Reasons for
employee training range from new-hire training about your operation, to
introducing a new concept to a workgroup to bringing in a new computer system.
Whatever
your reason for conducting an employee training session, you need to develop
the employee training within the framework of a comprehensive, ongoing, and
consistent employee training program. This quality employee training program is
essential to keep your staff motivated about learning new concepts and your
department profitable.
Essential
Components of Employee Training Programs
A
complete employee training program includes a formal new hire training program
with an overview of the job expectations and performance skills needed to
perform the job functions. A new hire training program provides a fundamental
understanding of the position and how the position fits within the
organizational structure.
The
more background knowledge the new associate has about how one workgroup
interrelates with ancillary departments, the more the new associate will
understand his or her impact on the organization.
Another
aspect of a comprehensive employee training program is continuing education.
The most effective employee training programs make continuing education an
ongoing responsibility of one person in the department. This is an important
function that will keep all staff members current about policies, procedures
and the technology used in the department.
New
Hire Training
A
solid new hire training program begins with the creation of an employee
training manual, in either notebook format or online. This manual acts as a
building block of practical and technical skills needed to prepare the new
individual for his or her position.
In
order for the department to understand current policies and procedures, a
manager must ensure the department manuals or online employee training are kept
current. This includes any system enhancements and / or change in policy or
procedure. In addition, keep the user in mind when designing training manuals
or online training; keep the employee training material interesting for the
learner. Use language that is not "corporate" and include images and
multi-media.
Much
of this employee training and reference material belongs online these days in a
company Intranet. But, if your organization is not ready to embrace the online
world, keep the manuals up-to-date and interesting. When possible, in computer
training, incorporate visual images of the computer screen (multi-media screen
capture) to illustrate functions, examples, and how tos.
On
the Job Training
Another
form of new hire training includes having the new associate train directly next
to an existing associate. Some call this On the Job Training (OJT) or
side-by-side training. This type of employee training allows the new associate
to see first hand the different facets of the position.
Also,
OJT allows the new hire the opportunity to develop a working relationship with
an existing associate. This type of employee training reinforces concepts
learned in the initial training and should be used to reinforce and apply those
same learned concepts.
Continuing
Education in Employee Training
A
continuing education program for a department is just as important as the new
hire training. When training a new associate, I have found that they will only
retain approximately 40 percent of the information learned in the initial
training session. Therefore, a continuous effort must be placed on reminding
the staff about various procedures and concepts. This continuing education can
be formal or informal. (The author’s preference is always with a more informal
approach.)
The
formal, or traditional approach, to employee training often includes a member
of management sending a memo to each associate. The informal, and often more
appealing approach to a visual learner, is to send a one-page information sheet
to staff. This information sheet, called a training alert, should be
informative and presented in a non-threatening manner. Therefore, if the policy
or procedure changes, the informal approach would better prepare the department
to receive this presentation.
Prior
to putting together a continuing education employee training program, the
management team must decide upon their desired outcome. One question that is
important to answer is, "Do you want the program to enhance the skills of
the associate or do you want to help the associate with personal
development?"
While
there is some commonality between these answers, the main difference is the
opportunity for the management team to mold future management team members. If
the desired outcome is simply to enhance skills, with no personal development,
the department will have a staff that simply knows how to do their job a little
better. While that is a positive outcome, you want your company to think
"outside the box," and design a program that allows, and even
encourages, critical thinking and problem solving.
Therefore,
when designing a continuing education program, the desired outcome should be a
blending of both technical and personal enhancement. This type of training
program will allow the staff the opportunity to develop solid management
skills, coupled with a better understanding of their position and function, and
how that fits into the relationship of the organization.
For
example, if you discover during the assessment process that writing skills in
the department are low, you will need to enhance those skills by developing a
corresponding training session.
Blend
Technical Training With Personal Development
This
writing training session could include topics on the basics of writing, such as
spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and correct word use. Building on
those basics, you could give your participants an applicable topic, such as
writing a letter to a customer apologizing for a late shipment.
Provide
the participants background information about the customer. Tell them the
customer has purchased from them for ten years and has always made payments
promptly. Give them ten or fifteen minutes to compose a rough draft and have
them present their letter to the group. Once someone has read a letter, ask the
other participants to offer feedback for improvements, and as the trainer,
point out the positive aspects of the letter.
Another
mechanism that will help with ongoing continuing education is to enable staff
members to develop an affiliation with an association or industry group. This
type of education is tangible and has been proven to have a positive track
record with the local offices and their industry trade groups. Staff members
are given the opportunity to come together periodically, and discuss the issues
they are experiencing in their business.
This
is a positive experience for everyone involved because the information gained
in this type of setting can prove useful to others who may have the potential
to partake in a similar situation. Also, others who have experienced a similar
situation have the opportunity to talk about their resolution(s) that worked
effectively.
Effective
Training Program Tips
Here
are a few final thoughts on the design of the continuing education employee
training program.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, most adults write at an eight-grade level. Therefore, always follow the acronym of KISS. (Keep it simple, sweetie.)
- When scheduling the training session, attempt to keep your groups diverse. This promotes good discussion and is a live example of how concepts can relate throughout the organization and/or workgroups.
- Attempt to have
a point person or a trainer in each work area. This concept serves two
purposes. If a new system or procedure will be introduced, the point
person can learn the system or procedure and train the staff. (People
always learn better when they are required to teach the concept.)
Second, it helps having a local resource within the workgroup. This allows for more questions when the level of understanding is low. Associates will not feel threatened by someone they sit next to every day versus a trainer from the human resources or organizational development area.
The
best type of employee training program for a work group is one tailored to
their needs. So, how do you know what their needs are? One way is to work with
the staff members who are responsible for the area. If it is possible, do a
random sampling of the staff performance development plans and look for
consistencies in any needed areas of development.
Another
approach is to conduct a training needs assessment and ask the staff members
themselves what skills they would like to develop.
No
matter how you determine what types of employee training sessions are needed,
it is important to remember that when developing the course, stick to the
original concept. If more than one concept is considered during the planning
process, break the concepts out into two workshops.
Keep
in mind that a productive employee training session can and should be
accomplished in less than two hours. Anything longer than two hours and you
will lose your audience. Finally, during the actual training session, attempt
to have at least one or two activities to keep the participants' minds active
and to prevent sleeping or daydreaming.
Do
You Really Need an Employee Training Session?
While
an employee training session may be effective, it may not always be the best
approach to fulfilling training needs. If the concept you are introducing is
defined as elementary or common knowledge, create an employee training alert,
instead.
An
employee training alert is an excellent method to communicate about and
reinforce concepts that would be considered common knowledge or new job
information. Either put employee training alerts online, distribute via email,
or, in some situations, when employees do not have computer access, as an
example, write employee training alerts in a bullet format on paper.
Remember
to add some flare and/or graphics to the piece of paper, if paper is the most
convenient method. Don't be afraid to use that flare in your color choice for
the paper. I have found in my work experience, that when staff members receive
a piece of fluorescent green paper in their mail box, they are more likely to
pick it up and read it, versus the memo on white paper that just went out from
the boss.
Keeping
the Learning Going
I'll
provide just a few ideas on this concept and then, I’ll step down from the
training soapbox.
- If the capabilities are present and the department wants to have some fun while learning, develop a game. This game can be anything from Family Feud to Jeopardy and more. In either format, have the staff answer questions created by the department management relating to work situations and/or people. It is amazing what people will remember from a fun situation versus a forced learning experience.
- When conducting the employee training classes, attempt to keep the class informative and light. While communicating the ideas is important, the number one goal should be to keep the staff interested, involved, and entertained during the workshop. This will insure staff members are paying attention and learning. (This can be difficult if you do not employ an animated trainer, however, most individuals that are in the training field are pretty animated.)
- Introduce the concept of blended learning to the department. Allow the staff to achieve their learning levels from different resources. While the employee training alerts and employee training sessions are directly from management, challenge the staff to look on the Internet and in the library for other ideas that might work in their department.
Through
all of this, the new hire training and the ongoing continuing staff education,
what I would most like you to remember is that learning can and should be fun.
Your
staff members are sponges wanting to absorb knowledge, however, they'll most
likely want to learn concepts when they are presented in a fresh, lively, and
exciting manner.
Putting
a twist to your current employee training methods can help people become and
continue to be excited about learning.
Adapted from About.com
