Employee Training

Introduction to employee training and development

The modern-day workplace thrives on employee engagement and satisfaction. A thorough report by The Engagement Institute found that U.S. companies can lose up to $550 billion a year because of disengaged employees.

Training programs are an excellent way of providing workers with the necessary skills and information to succeed. This also increases engagement because the employees understand that the company cares about their role and progress. Employees will be more efficient and productive, reducing the turnover in the process.

Training continues throughout an employee’s career span as they face newer challenges. Rule the Room revealed that 42% of companies have increased their training budgets. Most companies aim to increase competency and productivity through training programs.

What are the benefits of employee training and development?

Training is essential for increasing employee engagement and productivity. It offers the following benefits:

·        Better employee engagement

Research from Gallup found that 66% of employees are actively disengaged or not engaged. Proper training methods can act as a savior. If your employees are well-trained, they will find confidence in their work. They will feel like they are contributing to the company and try even harder to succeed.

·        Higher Competence

Trusting your employees is the key to success. Offering the perfect training program will allow you to mold their work ethic and increase their efficiency. The organization will benefit as a whole because of lesser errors and miscommunication. If an employee shows themselves to be lacking in a particular skill, you can customize their training to help them improve.

·        Consistency

Following similar employee training techniques will ensure that your employees have a consistent experience. You can cover everything they need to know to function within the work environment. They will be familiar with the company rules and ethics.

·        Employee satisfaction and retention

A high employee turnover can prove costly for an organization. Proper training methods can reduce turnover by increasing employee satisfaction. According to go2HR, 40% of employees with poor training are dissatisfied and will leave the company within the first year. Employees who feel that the company cares about their progress will be more likely to stay.

How improve training at work?

Training programs for different companies will usually not be the same. However, every organization should invest in tools that can help improve their training solutions. The following practices can help:

1. Prioritize employee experience over performance initially. Make sure that the employees are willing to learn and progress so that the training process is effective. Diligent learners will perform better automatically.
2. Appreciate the things that the employees do right alongside offering constructive criticism. This will help boost their morale and encourage them to celebrate their accomplishments. Have realistic expectations so that they do not feel overwhelmed immediately.
3. Providing the same training format and content for your employees will not give you adequate results. Every individual has different training needs and they respond to some types of training better than others. The onus is on you to track their progress and customize the ideal training schedule for every employee.
4. Do not miss out on the advantages offered by digital training solutions. With the rising popularity of remote work, the market is flooded with different learning platforms and collaboration tools that can vastly upgrade the digital employee experience.
5. View training as a long-term process so that you can continue to offer help and support as your employees’ progress and face new issues.

How to engage employees in training?

Fulfilling your employees’ training needs will not give you the results you want unless they are engaged during the learning process. In the same survey, Rule the Room revealed that 33% of employees say that uninspiring material keeps them from learning.  If you do not put effort into creating exciting content for your employees, there is a high chance that they will not pay enough attention to it.

The following tips can help increase employee engagement:

·        Blended learning:

Combine texts with audio and video content to maximize engagement. Providing employees with documents they must read through will leave them bored and inattentive. Combine various methods to craft an innovative training schedule.

·        Microlearning:

If you find that your employees are unable to devote long periods to learn the materials, then you should opt for microlearning. Giving knowledge in small nuggets will help in faster consumption and better retention. A tool like Bites is designed to create small videos or bites that can be used to convey information about anything.

·        Gamification

Turning boring lessons into games is one of the best ways to drive up employee engagement. Gamification allows the learners to set short-term goals for themselves. The sense of achievement they have after fulfilling the goals pushes them to take up more challenges.

Different types of training methods and techniques

There are different types of training methods that you can follow:

·        One-on-one guidance:

Experienced employees can take new employees under their wing and provide valuable training as coaches and mentors. The learners tend to learn faster under direct guidance. Moreover, the constant feedback and guidance help them improve in no time.

The 2018 SHRM/Globoforce Employee Recognition Report found that 89% of HR leaders believe that ongoing peer feedback and check-ins allow for better performances. Values-based recognition can increase engagement and motivation. This type of training can be offline or remote.

·        Classroom training:

Instructor-led or classroom training is the traditional way of doing things. While it is effective, lectures can become boring or bland after some time which can lead to disengagement among employees.

·        Online learning

One of the most popular types of employee training at the moment, online videos are now an invaluable learning medium. Webinars, recorded lectures with presentations, and instructional videos have revolutionized training by making it more accessible and consistent. The corporate sphere is showing a preference for virtual training, especially after the pandemic.

·        Digital learning platforms

Digital training platforms allow employees to be self-reliant and active. It is easy to distribute materials, track progress and get feedback through these platforms.

For example, Bites is the perfect all-in-one tool. It allows you to shoot and edit your own training videos, which you can then share among the trainees. You can also create flashcards with a summary of the lesson and test them through quizzes. The elaborate feedback system lets your employees offer suggestions as to how you can improve the training.

·        Hands-on training

This refers to experiential or on-the-job training during which an employee learns by doing. They learn the necessary skills for their role.

Video training for employees

Videos are an essential component of e-learning. In 2020, 90% of companies had to opt for eLearning as a training tool because of the pandemic. Training videos have proved to be invaluable for both employees and employers.

Live instructor-led training utilizes a lot more effort and resources than video-based learning. Employees can watch recorded videos when it is convenient for them. Creating training videos is also cost-effective because you can store them for future trainees.

You can customize the videos according to your company’s training program. Videos are one of the most flexible training methods. You can use videos to deliver any kind of information engagingly. Training and development content delivered in video format is comprehensive and easy to understand.

With videos, you can ensure standardized training for your employees across the world. Schedule conflicts will no longer hinder the learning process because the employees can access the videos whenever. This can help boost productivity because employees feel motivated to learn outside work as well.

Sharing videos virtually is a hassle-free process. You can send them to a group of your employees and rely on them to pass on the videos further.

Video e-learning

Video-based training is one of the most fruitful techniques in eLearning and it encourages microlearning. Employees have to retain the information they gather during the training process to get effective results. The SAVO Group found that an average employee forgets 65% of the material covered in a week.

Studies have shown that videos can increase knowledge retention and help employees recall concepts with more clarity. Presentations with videos are 83% more effective when the employees are tested sometime later. Video e-learning can improve employee engagement tremendously and increase their overall productivity.

Training programs

Companies have to develop comprehensive training methods to meet the training and development needs of new employees. In-house training is easier to set up and employees can learn more about their own work environment.

The best training programs combine online and offline methods. Rule the Room found in a survey that companies have dedicated 32% of training hours to blended learning methods to advantage of video e-learning.

Remote training

Remote working has always been around, but the pandemic has thrust it into the limelight. With more companies employing remote workers across the globe, it is now more important than ever to come up with new ways of training remotely. Businesses are expanding all the time, and having a consistent method of remote training is beneficial. E-learning through meetings, training videos, and webinars can be the ideal solution. Constant communication and an active feedback cycle can maximize the results of e-learning. According to Business Wire, the corporate e-learning market could increase by $38.09 billion between 2020 and 2024.

Frontline training

Frontline employees are crucial for determining the reputation of your brand. They cater to the customers’ representation and are the face of your products and services. According to a 2018 PwC report, 73% of consumers view customer service as one of their primary purchase drivers. Engaged and knowledgeable employees who have received proper training will be more likely to treat customers well. Train your customer support team to be quick thinkers who can deal with different situations on the spot.

New ways of training in 2021

Innovation and development in training methods have opened up many doors. Training in 2021 relies on new technologies like:

1. E-learning:

The eLearning industry growth could increase from $101 billion in 2019 to $370 billion by 2026, according to Statista.

The digital learning environment leads to better communication and engagement even among remote employees.

Interactive games and videos with some even gamified elements will engage the learners and motivate them to complete the training. The accessibility of e-learning also makes it an attractive option for the future.

2. Immersive technologies

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have taken over employee training in tech-forward companies. AR can enhance the graphics of the learning materials so that the employees have an immersive and unforgettable experience. VR allows employees to apply what they learn to reality through simulations.

3. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI can personalize training like never before by figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of the employees.

Summary

Training is important for employees to be efficient, productive, and loyal. A well-designed training plan is highly beneficial for a company because it can improve organizational performance and reduce turnover.

Employees who have received proper training during the onboarding process and are assured that they will continue to receive support will not let you down. According to LinkedIn, companies that have engaged employees prove to be 21% more profitable as compared to companies with a disengaged workforce. There are plenty of digital training solutions on the market available for you to offer standardized training to all your employees across the world.

Bites is one of the most convenient tools to have when creating your training course. You can use it to create short and exciting videos that will convey important information through visuals. These ‘bites’ can then be compiled into one playlist and shared among your employees through regular communication channels.

Bites offers an easy way to share training materials in the office and makes remote training simpler and cheaper. With Bites, you can create effective and engaging content that can be quickly consumed by your employees. You can monitor their progress via the analytics dashboard or give quizzes for a quick test.

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