How to deliver stand-out employee training and development

 How to deliver stand-out employee training and development

According to the 2014 Corporate Learning Face book, U.S. spending on corporate training grew by 15 percent last year (the highest growth rate in seven years). As the demand for employee training grows, so do the delivery options for employers (Gareth, 2008). But how do you know which training format is best for your company and employees?

First, know that there are two basic goals of employee training:

1. Provide information

2. Practice new behaviors

 

Some skills are best taught in each training format. Let’s explore the many training delivery methods you have to consider.

 

 

 

On-site classes  - On-site courses are usually held in a traditional classroom format. As long as you have a room large enough to accommodate your group of employees, typically, you only need to hire one trainer.

Learning in a group environment boosts individual and team knowledge, refines processes and provides an excellent team building opportunity. Any non-technical skill can be taught in a face-to-face environment.

However, all the involved employees must have the ability to be away from their workstations at the same time, which can be a scheduling challenge for some companies.

E-learning  - Convenient and flexible online trainings allow each of your employees to participate at their own pace without needing to physically attend a session at a particular time. E-learning courses are often interactive and include video presentations.

Any class can be offered via e-learning because it helps with:

• Accommodating many different learning styles
• Providing consistency in training content that face-to-face sessions may not be able to do
• Needing to train classroom trainers on new content and information (making it easier to maintain)
• Reducing large numbers of participants in a class

E-learning can train employees on technical skills and complex policies and procedures that may be hard to articulate in a face-to-face environment. It’s also great for company-wide compliance training or other situations where it may be hard to get everyone trained in a face-to-face setting before a deadline.

Many times e-learning courses include knowledge checks, such as short quizzes, along the way that help employees apply what they’ve learned, making retention of the material more likely.

These features help overcome the lack of social interaction involved in e-learning courses  the one downside to this training delivery method.

M-learning - Mobile learning or m-learning delivers training to mobile technology-savvy employees on their handheld devices. Essentially, m-learning has been equated with any e-learning module that can run on a portable device.

Given our short attention spans when using mobile devices, the best m-learning content is chunked into a series of short three to 10-minute lessons. Employees must have a compatible mobile device to participate, which may be easier than ensuring everyone has a computer to use. Employees appreciate the convenience of m-learning and tend to be motivated to complete it.

 

Gamification - Gamification training uses game mechanics to engage your employees and help them change behaviors, learn new skills, innovate or solve problems. Gamification is generally considered the application of game thinking to solving problems and encouraging learning using game elements that are appropriate.

Generally, this translates into e-learning or m-learning training courses that feel like a game  it may contain elements such as beating the clock, accruing points and/or unlocking new information.

 

 

Conclusion

Training and development leads to improved profitability and/or more positive attitudes toward profit orientation, improves the job knowledge and skills at all levels of the organization, improves the morale of the workforce and helps the employees identify with organizational goals.

References

Derek, T. & Laura, H., 1998. Human Resource Management. Europe. Prentice Hall: s.n.

Gareth, J., 2008. Human Resources Management. 9th Edition ed. New Delhi: Sultan Chand & Sons.

Gratton, L., Hailey, V. H., Stiles, P. & Truss, C., 2013. Soft and Hard Models of Human Resource Management. s.l.:Oxford Scholarship Online.