With the IT landscape ever-changing, on-going training and development for employees is more important than ever to remain competitive and ensure organizational success. Providing all levels of employees the training they need not only enhances their skills, capabilities and knowledge for a particular role, it can also help create an environment where “never stop learning” is the mantra, which helps develop better thinkers and problem solvers who’ll provide quality job performance and quality work over the long term.
The benefits that the right employee training can provide are numerous with key improvements that include:
Employee Morale—Training your employees makes them more secure in their role and more satisfied with their role, which means greater morale. The greater their morale, the more engaged your employees are with your organization and the more motivated they are to contribute to its success and stay on board.
Better Use of Time—The better trained your employees, the more knowledgeable they are to successfully complete the job at hand and do it right the first time, meaning less wasted time and efforts.
Greater Value—The more knowledge and skills that an employee acquires, the better equipped they are to take on additional responsibilities, making them an even more valuable asset for your organization.
Increased Productivity—Training employees increases productivity and efficiency with the end product a higher quality of work and also higher quantity of work with less wasted time, money and resources.
Reaping the benefits noted above can be as simple as following some training tips and best practices to keep your employees motivated and engaged. Let’s take a look at some of those.
Training 101
Providing the training to help your employees complete tasks accurately and achieve goals not only helps them excel in their career, it provides motivation, which—as mentioned above—creates higher levels of engagement. Employees having a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities is key to success and providing the proper training is how to achieve just that.
Employees may have trouble mastering certain tasks needed for their role and if such is the case, offering them additional training or coaching and providing feedback will help them improve in those areas where work is needed, while allowing them to excel in areas where their strengths lie.
Another training consideration is paring a mentor with each employee and have them check-in on a regular basis to make sure they understand their role and to field any questions or concerns that may come up. Additionally, have the mentor recognize mastery of specific skills to build confidence and encourage development.
As employees ramp up their skillset and take on more responsibilities, it is important for managers to provide feedback. Training and a total understanding of their role, increases motivation and engagement and helps drive project success.
To give you a better idea of various training methods, Onshore offers the following proprietary training methods:
- Group direct instruction
- Small group instruction
- Student directed learning
- Cooperative learning strategies
- Simulation
- Performance task
- Job shadowing
- Project based instruction
Developing Talent and Empowering People
Providing opportunities for growth and development are key to employee engagement and to your success. Again—create a “learning environment” where employees not only have the knowledge and skills for their current role, but also can prepare for future opportunities. Employees who grow their knowledge base and skillset are more likely to stay on board and recommend your organization to others, allowing you to build talent and strengthen teams.
To learn about other roles, allow employees to job shadow or take on a special project or work on other assignments and if possible, allow them time in their current schedule to take these on.
Additionally, include programs focused on skills training, tuition reimbursement for external continuing education courses, certification classes or leadership development programs.
It Takes A Team
Effective teams are created through trust and an open environment between mangers and employees. To that end, promote teamwork in training initiatives and encourage team members to go beyond the requirements of their current role. Doing so creates trust and shows team members they can rely on each other to accomplish project requirements and as a result are more engaged with the work—and on board with your success.
