The Most Effective Employee Training Tips and Methods
Training new employees is a task that every company has to go through at some point, and will often never stop as they grow larger and other employees leave, retire, and so on. Therefore, knowledge of how to properly train employees is crucial to know. This article outlines some tips on the correct way for training employees effectively, as well as the different methods available for doing so.
Part 1. Useful Tips for Training Employees Effectively
When training staff and employees, the first step is to identify a goal. It is essential to know what the aim is when training — what you want out of your staff.
Another important thing to note is that training employees is never a burden on the company, and although it may cost in the short term, it will always pay off to have experienced employees in the long term. When conducting the actual training, keep a fair schedule for the trainees. Don’t leave them so much time that they lag behind, but allow them to work at their own pace when possible. It will have a much better impact on them.
In addition, make sure the training is interactive. Knowledge is essentially useless without action (and the other way around). Give them activities, quizzes, hands-on examples, and so on. It will also give them much more experience for the real job compared to a standard blackboard-classroom setting.
These are just some tips for effective employee training within an organization.
Part 2. Effective Training Methods for Employees
With today’s technology, there are many effective training methods for employees. Before discussing these different methods, however, it is important to note that different employees will have different learning styles. Some will learn better through visual techniques, some grasp the material better through listening, while others are kinetic learners - they learn best via interactive means. Keeping this in mind and offering a variety of ways to learn will much better guarantee effective staff training.
1. The first choice is the classical way, in the style of a classroom.
This option is still one of the most popular ways to train employees. It can be done in two ways; in a real classroom or in a virtual classroom. Each of them have their pros and cons. As for the physical classroom style, it is much easier to ensure the students are learning properly, and much easier to interact with each other. However, if the trainees are unable to reach the location of the class, it is very hard for them to make up those lost hours. In a virtual classroom, this problem is non-existent, and the only requirement is that the students have the time for the class. A virtual classroom can be made through a video conferencing app such as ezTalks Cloud Meeting. So, whether a physical classroom or a video conference classroom is used, it is often the overall best option for effective training and development, as the trainees are able to ask questions, do activities provided by the trainer, improvise and go beyond the bare amount given in the course, etc.
2. Another option is to make use of online courses.
This differs from having online classrooms, in that there is no real teacher. The trainees are self-taught instead. Although it may seem like an inferior option at first, there are several benefits to it. First of all, they are able to train at their own pace. This guarantees that they understand the material. If they don’t, re-reading the information is much easier with online courses. Although there is no trainer to directly ask questions real-time, it is not a difficult task to provide them with an email or some sort of contact to help them with any difficulties they encounter. In addition to online courses, there are several other computer-based training methods available in the market; one very notable example is the usage of VR (Virtual Reality) to immerse the employees into a virtual situation similar to one that might be encountered in the real job.
3. The third method is to introduce employees to real-life examples.
One of the most important steps in training employees effectively is introducing them to real-life examples of what they will be working with once they begin the actual job. This can work in a few different ways. Sometimes, if it is safe to do so and once sufficient previous training has been done, the employee will be given the job under the supervision of a coach. The job of this coach is to supervise to ensure that the job is being done properly. He/She will also give tips and advice on the job, and keep the environment safe for the trainee if the job involves dangerous aspects. Many on-field jobs have this type of training, provided after approximately a few weeks of training off the worksite. When providing effective employee training, having this type is a must-have for any company.
Conclusion
Overall, these three forms of training are the staple for modern-day effective employee training methods. Having proper training has tremendous positive effects on a company far outweighing the possible cost of it, and a company with poor training methods will most likely have more poorly skilled employees than a company who takes the time to train its employees.