Employee Training in the Modern Workplace

Employee training isn’t new. As long as there have been jobs, people have been training for them, and other people have been tasked with curating them. But, as times change, so do our learning processes and so must our way of teaching. These changes don’t have to be complicated or costly. Simply knowing what works and what doesn’t is the best way to bring the modern training methods to today’s workplace.

What’s Your Objective?

It’s a fact: most training is ineffective. But it shouldn’t be and it doesn’t have to be. To make sure your training program is impactful, the first step is knowing your objectives. If your training hasn’t been updated since that 1998 training video, PowerPoint, or booklet that you’ve been pushing at your employees was created, now’s the time. We know people learn differently and that technology has changed the way business runs. Follow your mission statement and determine what you want from your employees. Then you can figure out what training they’ll need to be successful.

One-Size DOES NOT Fit All

Training in the workplace has historically been presented too generically. Today more than ever, we see a variety of demographics and roles in offices around the world. Baby boomers work alongside Gen Xers and millennials, and soon we’ll see Gen Z entering the workforce, all with different backgrounds, skills, and experiences. Your employees have different needs so it makes sense to personalize their training experiences.

Andy Molinski, a Professor of Management and Psychology at Brandeis University used the sports analogy when addressing this issue of having to training a diverse group. In sports they utilize different – specialized – coaches to address the personal strengths, challenges, and goals of individuals and small groups. Recognizing that your younger employees may have the upper hand in the latest technology, or that your part-time workers don’t need extensive information on full-time benefits, can be extremely helpful when it comes to designing your training to match the needs of your employees.

Use Modern Tools

Let’s face it: “classroom” settings have always been boring and unappealing. Nobody wants to sit in a boardroom watching a 50-minute PowerPoint while someone drones on at the front of the room, clicking through each slide as eyes glaze over and minds wander. And now we have studies to actually back up the ineffectiveness of this approach. A study on how to improve learning with effective techniques by The Association of Psychological Science (APS) found that the actual practice of skills through various methods was more effective than just being shown a technique (either by reading or images).

One way to update your employee training is by switching from an in-house setting to online training. Converting to an online platform can eliminate hassle and cut costs – but it has to be done right. Simply throwing a PowerPoint presentation on your website isn’t good enough. If you make the move to online training, make sure your content is concise, engaging, and interactive. You can embed tests and incorporate real-life problems that your employees are likely to encounter. Online training can be individual or it can be collaborative with employees working in groups and discussing outcomes, even if they’re not in the same location. Social learning has shown to be more efficient, and technology has become extremely social, so why not use that to your advantage?

Get the Most out of Your Employees

Visionary and billionaire Elon Musk has, on multiple occasions, defined his keys to motivating employees. He avoids assessments and predetermined guidelines and keeps the focus on the employees’ competencies and problem-solving abilities, which encourages them to be more driven to prove themselves. Being allowed to fail and work through relevant problems raises self-esteem, gives people a sense of purpose, and inspires them to apply what they’ve learned. The best way to do all this is to keep training short, objective based, flexible, and continuous. When you allow your staff to constantly be working toward learning and improving, while also keeping your training relevant and up to date, your business will grow as your employees grow.