High-quality employee training can lead to higher employee retention rates, improved job satisfaction, and better performance. Learn what goes into designing a successful training program and how you can use it to improve your organization’s performance.
How Important is Training?
An HR Department that hires but doesn’t train is asking for a high turnover rate which can become costly to a business. HR staff can tell you that anyone can look good on a resume but can need some training when performing on the job. Training helps fill the gaps in areas the employee needs improvement.
Here are some other reasons to train:
- Fear of failure can cause a new employee to give up when the going gets tough, resulting in increased turnover. Basic training and orientation classes at the start of employment will reduce this type of turnover and help the worker succeed.
- Investing in job-related training shows all employees they are a valued part of the company.
- It provides opportunities for career development and job enrichment – both can motivate employees to stay on the job.
- Training can lead to more employee commitment, resulting in a decreased turnover.
- The savings realized from having a skilled workforce can offset the upfront cost of providing the initial training.
Determine Training Needs and Goals.
Before creating a successful training program, you must assess your organization’s skill and knowledge gaps. What skills do your employees need to develop or improve? Do they require any formal certifications? What goals do you want to achieve with this program, and how can it help your team reach its objectives? Answering these questions enables you to identify the needs of your team and determine the types of training that will be most effective for them.
Survey Your Employees
When beginning consulting for any company, I survey the executives and employees to find out how they are doing and to ascertain who needs more training. Some employees fear talking about their problems because they want to look efficient. But I design the questions to elicit what areas of their job they need more training to improve their work performance. The survey responses are crucial information to build your training program.
Set Learning Objectives for Each Training Program.
Once you understand the needs of your team, it’s time to set learning objectives for each training program. These objectives help you measure the success of your programs and inform future investments. Setting clear objectives ensures the training achieves its intended results and aligns with your business goals. Outline what skills employees should learn during the program and how those skills translate into improved performance.
Conduct Performance Evaluations at Regular Intervals.
After implementing a training program, you should measure its effectiveness through regular performance evaluations. These evaluations help you assess whether employees are putting the skills they learn into practice and allow you to identify any areas that need improvement. It also establishes a system of accountability and provides feedback to employees on their performance. Additionally, it’s essential to create an effective review process that provides honest feedback to employees and encourages them to continue learning.
Offer Incentives to Encourage Retention and Performance Improvements.
Incentives are an important motivator for employees, and when done correctly, they can result in greater productivity, improved employee retention, and better overall performance. Offering rewards such as bonuses for hitting performance targets, recognition for completing courses, and other incentives will encourage employees to stay on track with their goals and strive to do even better. We also recommended that you provide regular feedback to assess employee progress, so your staff feels supported in their efforts.
Measure Results to See If Training Is Working.
To ensure that your training is paying off, it’s important to measure results. To measure results you must keep track of customer satisfaction rates, overall performance, and productivity of the overall business and each job within the business. If you only keep track of your sales or gross income, you are falling far short of measuring your results. Every job or function in your organization should have a statistic that measures the employee’s productivity. Consultants often refer to this as a Key Performance Indicator or KPI.
Final Words
Hiring by resume only and not having a training program in your business is like playing a game of chance. You may get lucky and hire perfect employees who can flawlessly perform every function of their job. But that would be like asking for an employee to be like the goddess Athena who was born fully grown out of the brow of Zeus. It is much more practical to put a training program in place!
At International Executive Technology, we have the technology to create and manage statistics to help any business flourish and prosper. You can learn more by checking out Our Services at our website, Intexectech.com.
Rohn Walker
President
International Executive Technology