Proper employee training and development takes a lot of time and effort. There is no blueprint available for the perfect employee training program. However, you can indeed find and follow the elements which work best for most companies. But before getting those elements, let’s look at the challenges organisations frequently encounter while developing corporate training programs.
Challenges in Developing Employee Training
Organisations usually attempt to increase the effectiveness at the time of designing their employee training program. However, often despite the attempt, employees complain of not gaining detailed insight from the allocated training. Several reasons are at play behind this shortcoming. To make a training method successful, one needs to minimize as many challenges as possible.
Employee Schedule:
The greatest challenge in employee training and development arises due to the packed schedules of employees. When an employee is overloaded with work, a training session will only add to their stress level. An employee does not benefit from training in a hectic work schedule, no matter how detailed or well thought-after the program is.
Rise Of Remote Work:
Decentralisation of the workplace has played a significant role in creating problems in designing the right employee training. A number of training methods need the right space with adequate equipment. With remote work on the rise, organizing training sessions has become difficult. Misinterpretations of important topics have become common in modern training. Additionally, some employees are not very comfortable speaking over the camera. It creates a communication gap that hinders the real objective of an employee training and development session.
Lack Of Technical Knowledge:
At the time of corporate training, the age and experience gap creates significant issues. Everyone is not equally tech-savvy. As a result, a number of times, the training method fails to be effective for everyone attending a training. In addition, different learning levels become another big challenge to overcome.
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Low Engagement:
Three types of engagement are required during corporate training – cognitive, behavioral, and emotional. Unless these three types of engagements are present and accounted for, a training program does not succeed. A big factor is employees’ approach towards training methods. If the employees consider a training program irrelevant, they emotionally resist the program.
Irrelevant Training Programs:
Often organisations end up designing employee training and development programs that are too generic to contribute to employee improvement. These programs are not customised to meet individual improvement needs. This is a common challenge that creates emotional resistance towards corporate training.
So, to overcome these challenges, it is essential to follow a training method that offers both knowledge and motivation to the employees. Such a corporate training program helps in improving employee productivity and motivates them to proceed towards their professional goals with more determination. However, when designing a successful program, one needs to pay attention to some essential elements. These are required to ensure better employee engagement and enthusiasm.
Here’s a list of 8 essential corporate training programs for every organization.
Training Program Management:
A successful training program rides on the shoulders of an individual. It needs a manager with enough enthusiasm to drive the entire employee training and development session. The designation of this individual may vary depending on the organisation, but the person’s role remains the same. The training manager takes care of the entire training program. The key job role of the training manager is to plan and execute the show.
Not just anyone takes care of this role because it requires certain qualities. A successful corporate training manager must possess an open mind. Flexibility towards planning and execution leads to success as employees are more likely to take on a learning and development program if it is flexible enough to accommodate their needs. For this reason, only an open-minded, flexible, and curious person with the ability to do thorough research can handle the pressure of organising the training and development event.
The employee training and development planning process includes some essential steps. The manager needs to go slow when planning a training session. The first essential process is to create a breakdown. Undertaking everything at once can be a big mistake. Anyone who has run an event knows that one needs to create a step-by-step outline to make an event successful. Milestones are important because, by creating milestones, the managers can accomplish more by monitoring each step.
The next essential step is to identify corporate training goals. This, too, is the job role of a manager. If they fail to recognise the organisational goals, they will not create the right program to improve employee performance. Due to this reason, every successful training manager takes time out to evaluate organisational goals and then merge those goals with the training goals. The right combination of these two makes training successful.
While creating a training method, sometimes managers ignore the need to engage the existing attendees. They focus solely on drawing the attention of the new members. Such an approach creates engagement issues. The existing members may feel left out, and the new ones may get overwhelmed by their attention. To prevent this the manager needs to design the program to suit everyone’s needs. Unless the employee needs are addressed in detail, the training may not lead to the required effectiveness.
Learning Need Evaluation:
The key objective of any training method is to offer knowledge. The trainers offer their valuable insights to improve the productivity and professional attitude of the employees. However, it is essential to understand that everyone has individual learning needs. The trainer needs to understand each participant’s background to create a program that generates curiosity and interest. If the trainer fails in holding on to the participants’ attention, the entire program fails to meet its objective. Due to this reason, anyone who is organising training and development needs to work closely with the trainer and go through the background of the participants to figure out their learning needs. While it is impossible to customise a program based on everyone’s needs, creating a program that evokes interest is possible.
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The learning need identification process is not easy. One has to follow a few essential steps to determine the depth of learning requirement. The first step is to identify the learning gaps. Different people react differently to the same situation. Everyone does not possess similar learning skills. It is the key reason the managers need to identify the gaps that create resistance to the learning process. Until the root of the learning gaps is addressed, an employee training and development program will not offer effective results. If possible, the managers need to understand the skill level of individual participants.
The biggest challenge of a training manager is to deal with overqualified employees. There will always be someone who possesses high qualifications. This employee can be difficult to deal with. Drawing these employees into active participation requires skilled training method creation. To make the qualified employees feel at home, the manager needs to give them enough material to ponder over. These employees need to realise that training programs are essential for better performance. However, if a program fails to offer in-depth information, the highly qualified employees may not participate with full enthusiasm. Due to this reason, a successful training program needs detailed research and an excellent informative approach.
Before a corporate training program the manager needs to design a skill assessment plan. Each employee brings a different skill set to the organisation. Skill assessment often requires face-to-face discussion. Everyone does not react well to group discussions. If the manager does not get individual interviews, a well-researched questionnaire will work wonders in evaluating employee skill sets. Modern companies create assessment questions to save time and know their employees better.
A wide array of corporate training programs is available for managers to choose from. However, the vast choice does not make selection easy. Managers need to evaluate each process before determining the right one for the employees. It takes time to assess the functionality of the training program. Case studies work well at this stage. By exploring different case studies, the managers can determine whether a training program will be well suited for the employees or not. The objective is to keep employees engaged while offering them knowledge. Therefore, the program must include elements to appeal to the attendees.
Merging Training and organisational Goal:
Any employee training and development program should have one goal or objective. It should lead towards fulfilling the training and development goals of an organisation. Anyone who is designing a proper training method needs to evaluate the organisational goal before designing a program. If an organisation needs motivated employees for better productivity, the trainer should design a motivation program.
Employees need to know the objective of a training program. In training, often the trainer forgets to explain the need to attend such a session. To prevent employees’ feeling inadequate, the trainer needs to merge the training program with the company strategy. Regardless of the objective of the training, the attendees need to know that they do not lack quality or capability. Therefore, the employee training and development program needs to explain the organisational needs before beginning a program.
Goal Setting & Monitoring:
Monitoring individual improvement after a corporate training program is not always possible. A manager cannot track personal goals or progress. However, it is possible to track organisational goals. When a training method aligns with the organisational needs, it becomes easy for the manager to track the goal and determine the effectiveness of a program. Because of this, everyone looks after the organisational goals before designing their training and development.
Goals are the most critical aspects of any program. People usually end up setting higher goals. It makes accomplishment a difficult task. For this reason, the employee training and development program needs to explain the process of goal breakups. Goals, when broken into milestones, look easy to accomplish. In addition, a goal should be specific and attainable. There is no use in setting a goal that is too difficult to accomplish. Also, the goal should be relevant to the company’s needs. A time-bound goal that aligns with the business need of the organisation will be effective for future growth. Therefore, the trainers need to encourage the employees to create such goals.
Adequate Leadership Support:
Leadership support can change the effectiveness of an employee training and development program. Without proper leadership support, a training and development session may face poor engagement challenges. Therefore, it is essential to bring proper leadership assistance to any program. It motivates employees to become more active, better equipped to handle challenges, and curious about goal setting and professional growth. Everyone needs a role model, and a leader provides just that figure to the employees. Therefore, while designing a training program, the manager needs to bring in leadership support. Someone who has proved their worth in the same industry can add to the effectiveness of a program.
Relevant Program With Modern Technology:
The corporate training program, regardless of the industry, should be relevant to the employees’ needs. Lack of relevance usually creates emotional resistance. While the first objective should be to offer in-depth insight and knowledge to the employees, the second one should always be employee engagement. If the training program offers enough relevant information, employees will surely ask for more of such programs. Modern learners are habitually distracted. To hold on to their attention, one needs to offer enough technical support.
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Encouraging Employee Participation:
A successful corporate training program enjoys active employee participation. It is the responsibility of the trainer to ensure participation from the employees. The trainer needs creative ideas to draw employees out of their shells and make them participate in the program. Out-of-the-box thinking and a touch of entertainment to the program make employees enjoy the event and encourage them to provide their insight.
Drawing the introverts out of their shell is not an easy task. An engaging training method with enough information and realistic tips helps the participants participate actively in the event. It is not easy for everyone to speak in front of a crowd. Keeping this in mind, the trainers must design something keeping each participant in mind. It will give the employees a sense of belonging.
This blog discussing the role of effective communication in employee engagement can help you develop comprehensive communication channels.
Training Program Marketing:
To make a training method successful, one must promote it to different platforms. Unless a training program gets proper promotion, it does not draw enough interest. The employees need to know about the training and development properly before they attend the program. Even if it is an in-house training program, the manager needs to promote it with enough material to draw interest. Employee curiosity is the best element when it comes to the success of a training program. With chunks of information and fun facts, the manager can evoke both excitement and interest in the employees.
Consistent promotion is the best possible way to make a corporate training session and development successful. The training manager should plan the launch properly. However, the manager needs to continue the promotional process even after the launch. Consistency is the key to training success here.
Reinforcement of Training Concept:
Organisations use their time and money to create training programs each year. It takes a lot of effort to create programs, organise them, and then monitor progress. However, often organisations find that the employees have not gained any insight from the training programs. This takes place due to a lack of reinforcement. When designing an employee training and development program, one needs to keep in mind the need to offer the attendees something new. Without a reinforcement plan, trainers will not be able to draw employees back to another session. Even if the employees attend the training, they may not take active participation in the program. In this case, the entire effort from the organisation and the trainer will be wasted. Keeping this in mind, an organisation needs to reinforce information and training concepts to add a touch of excitement.
Right Trainer:
Lastly, to make an employee training and development program successful, one needs to hire the right trainer. While a training program design plays a big role in training success, the right trainer can make a big difference in driving a demotivated team towards proper motivation. The success of a training program lies on the shoulder of the individual who is running the show. For this reason, organisations should be careful while hiring a trainer to run their training sessions. Someone with leadership quality and excellent speaking ability will be able to lead a successful event. Participants don’t only seek professional information from a training session. They seek assistance and support also. An individual who understands the challenges of the employees will be the right person to lead a training program where attendees come from different backgrounds.
Conclusion
Employee training and development programs are created for one purpose only – employee improvement. However, the corporate training manager needs to remember that unless the program holds on to the employee’s attention, it cannot fulfil its purpose. One essential aspect which most training managers overlook is the aspect of entertainment. Unless the training method offers some level of entertainment, it is not possible to keep employees engaged till the end. It is also important to track enagement and completion levels regularly to ensure your structure is working efficiently.
If you have enjoyed this article and found the tips given here helpful, please explore our Blog section for more articles on employee training and development programs. Auzmor Learn has adopted the elements mentioned in this blog and put them to use in an LMS like no other. Book a FREE demo today to know more!
