Henry Ford was absolutely right when he said “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” This holds so true in today’s business world where innovation and development are progressing at a rapid pace. If companies don’t keep themselves abreast of these developments they are in danger of being left far behind in the race to capture the market.
As an entrepreneur it is especially important that you stay on top of the game by ensuring you and your employees learn and implement the most relevant technologies. Training employees has two fold benefits, first it increases efficiency and second it increases their loyalty to your organisation. However there are numerous factors to consider while implementing any training program for your employees. So let us go ahead and look at a simplified rundown of the entire training process right from assessment to implementation (taking these factors into consideration).
Assess Relevant Training Requirement
Numerous innovations occur on a regular basis, but not everything will benefit your organisation. Given the unique nature of your organisation it is necessary that you do a careful analysis before deciding which innovation will be best suited for it. What works for another organisation in your field may be completely wrong for you, so do a careful research before choosing the relevant technological innovation to go ahead with and train your employees in.
Action Plan
Now that you have identified the relevant technological training requirement for your organisation, it is time to decide on the action plan. First clearly establish the objective you wish to achieve at the end of the training session. This will pertain to:
- The level of relevant knowledge your employees will have at the end of it.
- How they will be able to apply this knowledge to their current roles in a seamless efficient manner.
Based on these objectives, chart out the modules which will be contained in the training program. Only those learning modules and workshops that will help your employees achieve the said objectives should be made a part of the program. This will make for a more effective and streamlined training program.
Training Methods
Now that the content of the training program has been decided, the next question on your mind will be – How to execute it? Will you do it online or offline? There are numerous ways you can go about the training:
- Traditional face-to-face training
- Online training using various e-learning software packages
- Blended Learning – Which combines the benefits of both face-to-face and online training
- Short term projects or assignments attached to specialists/mentors for hands on practical training and learning
Each method has its advantages, choose the one that best fits your organisation’s needs.
Scheduling the Training Program
It is important to plan the training program to fit your around your employees’ work schedule, in order to ensure everyone gets to be a part of it. You can also have a flexible scheme where employees who miss a couple of sessions can make up for it via an online or face-to-face training session.
Implementing the Training
Always keep track of the training program while it is ongoing to ensure it is meeting its objectives and the target group of employees are also not facing any inconveniences. At the end of the program, have an evaluation test and run a few on the job trials to ensure your employees are able to leverage their new knowledge to improve efficiency.
Follow up
Assess your employees’ feedback on the training program to see if they found it useful and if they have any suggestions on how to improve the program. These suggestions can be kept in mind when organising the next training program. Also monitor the efficiency levels during the following months to see if the training program has had a positive impact on your employees.
While keeping up with new innovations is an ongoing process, you will definitely find a marked improvement in efficiency and employee satisfaction after your training program is complete.
