How To Streamline Your Training for More Success in the Workplace
Let’s paint the picture, you have a new job and you are so enthusiastic to get started. You are told by your new boss, that a supervisor will be assigned to you and will “show you the ropes.” It’s the first day, you briefly meet your supervisor as she is whisked away to a meeting. She hands you an employee training manual, that is dated 2008. She explains that a lot of the manual is outdated, but that you will get the gist of it. Apparently, there are some recorded webinars for you to watch from a few years back, but she has to locate them first. She also tells you that she already has work for you to do, so please check your email and she will be back later that day. You are left alone with your outdated training manual and an email list about a mile long feeling totally overwhelmed.
Face it, this is definitely a typical scenario found in many businesses and organizations in every industry. Even if the picture above doesn’t reflect your work environment, it isn’t new news that most business environments do not have the time or the funds to do high-performance in-house training for their employees. Which unfortunately leads to many skill gaps in the workforce, resulting in lower productivity, and overall profit.
So what action steps can you take right now to begin to find the weakness in your training? The first step is to streamline your training. Here at Reach You, we see that process taking 7 steps.
Step 1: Keep the End in Mind
Often the biggest mistake trainers make is that they don’t begin with the end in mind. Does the training define the audience? Are there outlined goals and objectives? If not, then it is time to reevaluate your methods. Training needs to meet learners where they are at, and that can’t be done unless we understand specifics about the audience. Make sure to brainstorm with your team about who needs training and why.
Step 2: Skill Gaps
Sometimes the best way to find the weakness in your training program by observing the skill gaps in your workforce. What behaviors, results, or production is missing in your work environment? Knowing the answer to this question is vital, because often it’s what is missing in your training.
Step 3: Refine and Automate Your Workflow
Every employee should have a job and knowledge on how to execute it. There should be defined expectations for everyone in your work environment. If there isn’t, usually that means there is a gap in learning. What does the overall workflow look like? Does it need to be redefined? Do all the employees understand the hierarchy of your work environment? The answer to these questions will lead you to more effective training and production.
Step 4: Don’t Overwhelm
It is vital that you don’t overwhelm your employees with too much information in training. Studies have shown that when a learner is given too much information they shutdown and learning becomes minimal. Have you identified needs and luxuries in your training? What do your employees need to know and what is pure luxury information. When it comes to training, simple, concise, and applicable is always the most effective.
Step 5: Technologically Stimulating
Your training needs to keep up with the times, in order for your learner to be engaged. We live in a fast-paced digital age, so it would behoove you to add technology to your training. Not ready to do a full-blown online training course yet? No problem! There are plenty of ways you can stimulate your team through technology with short online micro-learning modules or digital media videos, that prove to be fun, interactive and cost-effective.
Step 6: Develop a Mentorship Program
We cannot stress this enough, as something vital for new employees. Having a mentor is like having a port in the storm when new to your work environment. It helps employees feel supported and like they have someone they can speak to in order to gain more clarity about their position. If you don’t have mentors for your new employees, stop what you’re doing and go appoint them… this should be done… like…..yesterday.
Step 7: Be Brave and Ask for Feedback
Let’s be real, feedback can often be rough to hear. But all leaders should be asking for it on a monthly or at least quarterly basis. Why? Because a happy work environment is a successful work environment. Here is some critical knowledge that you may not be aware of, (that I probably heard from Oprah) all human beings want to feel like they are valued and appreciated. The minute employees feel undervalued is when they begin to be less productive. So ask for feedback and then work on your own weaknesses. Hear them out, so that in the end everyone is not only happy but high-performing.
Follow these key elements and you will be on your way to streamlining your training. And if you want to take it one step further, give us a call! We would love to brainstorm training solutions with you that are both cost-effective and results-driven. Contact us at info@reachyou.media or visit our website at www.reachyou.media.
Now take a look at the video below that summarizes these steps!
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Maria Topliff, CEO and Founder
Maria has had more than 10 years of experience teaching online and creating eLearning Curriculum Design. As the 2014 North Carolina Online Teacher of the Year, she has traveled across the country for consultant work as well as public speaking seminars on how to create engaging online learning. Maria has created and revised more than 60 online courses and she has held numerous professional development training seminars both virtually and in person. With a dual Master’s in Multicultural Literature and Educational Leadership, she believes that Optimal Learning can only occur with instruction that includes real-world and application-based activities. As her professional experience grew, Maria has been able to see the critical need for engaging online learning across all industries. Her mission has always been to create exciting interactive eLearning, leading to increased productivity and success for all learners.
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