Employee training is treated by many as a necessary evil. As a result, it’s common that the way in which the training is provided is far from optimal, often primarily just being done to tick a box.
In most cases, this is a wasteful and ineffective approach to take. There are plenty of things you can do to improve the training process, and to help you out, we decided to go through our top tips to take employee training to the next level.
Ensure participation
While there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way of carrying out employee training, one thing that will be universally beneficial is a high level of participation. What you absolutely don’t want is for people to come and stare at a slideshow all day, only to forget everything within a week.
Make sure that you create room for active participation and engagement. Not only will this help to make the training a whole lot more enjoyable for all involved, but it will also help to ensure that the information and skills that are shared actually stick in the memories of the participants.
Create the right environment
Another important aspect of taking employee training to the next level lies in creating the right environment. In many cases, that might mean hiring an external space from somewhere like CCT Venues, to ensure that you’re not limited by the kinds of spaces available in your own premises.
You need to make sure that you have enough space, that the mood of the environment matches the activities, and that you have the right range of facilities available.
Continuous learning
Even if you provide the most effective training events possible, it’s impossible to teach everything at once. More than that, as techniques and technologies change, you’ll find that training needs to be updated in order to keep employees up to scratch.
What this means in practice is that you’ll have to embrace a philosophy of continuous learning. Training events should be a regular practice, not just something that’s facilitated at the last minute possible. The result, if done properly, will be a competent, efficient and satisfied workforce.
Peer-to-peer learning
In addition to special events, it’s important to embrace the power of peer-to-peer learning as well. Many of your employees will have heaps of experience and expertise that they’ll be able to share with their coworkers, often teaching through the process of doing.
It’s important to recognise that peer-to-peer learning still needs to be structured, and might require that you lessen the workload of the employees in question a little. Not only can it be a great way of carrying out training, but it can also be a wonderful opportunity to increase a sense of community and connection in the workplace.
Exactly how you take your employee training to the next level will depend on what’s being taught. That being said, we’re confident that the tips listed above will be applicable and helpful in a wide range of situations, from education to consultancy.