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.
