Top training tips any company can put to work

It doesn’t matter whether your trainees are young or old, new hires or existing employees, or even if your topic is safety or sexual harassment, every form of employee training will share a common thread.

Especially today, companies are looking for programs that deliver the best training ROI. At the very least, these programs must be designed with a clear purpose and outline measurable objectives for employees to reach.

Any organization can use these top five employee training tips to help design their own training courses or to improve the ROI of any current programs:

1. Set clear goals. Identifying goals should be the first step to developing a new training program or enrolling employees in outside courses. A clear set of goals will ensure that employees complete the required course material and know what is expected of them once the program is finished.


2. Keep it ongoing. Employee training should be viewed as a way to continually learn and improve, rather than just something to check off your to-do list. With continuous training, employees will develop new skills and abilities that will improve their productivity and boost to your bottom line.


3. Keep it simple. Keep training programs focused on one topic at a time. If there are too many topics or too much information, you can easily overwhelm employees and turn training into a burden instead of an opportunity. If necessary, split up a large training program into smaller, more manageable courses.


4. Spend wisely. Do your homework and make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck when investing in employee training. Whether you’re using an outside resource or developing an in-house training program, ensure the materials are the best quality for your budget.


5. Follow up. After the training course or seminar is complete, managers should meet with employees on a regular basis to determine the effectiveness of the training and to monitor employees’ progress. Managers can also help employees who may be struggling with any new information.
   

You can only improve your employee training ROI if you put in the time to plan an effective program and are prepared to follow up. Without any follow through, many employees will lack the motivation to hang onto their newly-learned skills, turning the training into a waste of time.

A business is only as good as the people who work for it. Help your business succeed by giving employees the tools and training to perform at their best.

Tuesday’s top 6 training links

There’s just too much great advice on training out there right now to break up and cover separately. So, we put it all of the latest information on training and development in a nice little list:

1. When companies hit hard times, employee training and development is one of the first departments to “feel the pain,” says Chris Ferdinandi at the Manager’s Sandbox. Yesterday Chris wrote a great post on how to get started on building a better training program and has two follow-ups planned. Go play in the sandbox and check it out.


2. A few weeks ago we covered a a Wall Street Journal article where UCLA professor Samuel Culbert denounced the effectiveness of performance reviews. Kris Dunn, The HR Capitalist, says “Kill the Performance Review - But Only If Every Manager You Have Can Coach.”


3. Why is it that the “times when you feel like you need training the most are the very times when you feel you can afford it the least?” asks Jason Seiden. He recently wrote a great run-down of the Key Success Factors (KSFs) that could help you reduce training expense without impacting the effectiveness of the program. “When financial capital is tight, human capital has got to be on.” Read the post and find out how to improve your training program.


4. Training during an economic recession can boost your competitive edge, according to Juliette Dennett in an article on TrainingZone out of the UK. When business owners tighten up budgets and put non-essential activities on hold, employee training is usually included. Read the article and learn why right now is the right time to invest in key members of your workforce.


5. Organizations fail to maximize learning retention because of 7 key reasons, including a lack of learner buy-in, poorly defined objectives and a lack of follow-up, according to a recent study by the World of Learning. Simon Cooper at Brilliant Learning breaks down each reason and examines exactly “Why Training Isn’t Working.”


6. Laurie Ruettimann of Punk Rock HR recommends checking out the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the troops and veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their civilian supporters. Take a minute to check out their list of employment resources for veterans.

From all of us at Training Time on this Veterans Day, we would like to thank all of those serving our country at home and overseas.

Incentive programs: Where’s your follow-through?

You’ve determined a budget, put an employee incentive program in place and have taken your position, patiently waiting for the motivation to begin. Ready ... set ... hike!

While you may not associate employee incentives with college sports teams, there’s always someone out there like Paul Hebert at Fistful of Talent to make you think again.

Yesterday, Paul wrote an insightful post comparing the effort sports teams put into getting results (i.e., winning championships) to the effort organizations put into preparing their teams to hit the big goal (i.e., sales numbers).

“Too often, companies put a program in place, with the associated budget, in order to motivate the troops to hit their goals. But most of the time, the program is announced, the awards delineated and the “auto-pilot” button is pushed.

Everyone sits back and assumes because the reward is big the folks will do the job. Where’s the one-on-one coaching? Where is the daily practice on areas that need it? Who is watching from the tower and yelling instructions to the team below? In most cases, business is talking big money too. Lack of performance – whether that be your sales organization or your call center, can lead to either big wins or big losses. But we don’t want to put in the effort.

I spend my time talking to clients about the design of the incentive and reward system that helps align their audience to the goals for the organization – but I also ask what effort they will be putting into coaching, training and leadership.

The greatest incentive program in the world won’t get you to the results you want, unless you’re willing to put in the time with your audience to make sure they have the skills and the information needed to help achieve the goal.”

To all of the training professionals and managers in charge of training employees, we would like to know - where’s your follow-through?

What do you do to make sure your rewards and incentive program doesn’t get set on “auto-pilot” mode? Do you always put in time with employees to make sure they’re equipped with the training and skills needed to achieve the goal?

Reminder: Corporate training in a recession, free webinar

For everyone who caught our first announcement and to those who may have missed it, we would like to send out a friendly reminder that this Wednesday, October 15, Training Time will be holding a free webinar - Squeezing the Most Out of Your Training Budget: Corporate Training in a Recession.

Experienced training professionals will share:

• The typical corporate response to recession and its impact on training
• The priceless value of training during tough economic times
• How to find better training resources at less cost
• How to identify the specific training needs of your company

Whether you’re a supervisor responsible for training your team, an HR professional who regularly presents seminars and classes, or head of training for your company, we encourage you to attend.

Get the most benefit out of every training dollar and join us on Wednesday October 15, 2008 at 1 p.m. EST for Squeezing the Most Out of Your Training Budget: Corporate Training in a Recession. Space is limited, so please reserve your seat now.

eTools, online training saves time and money

The latest Hospital eTool, designed to help workers avoid common hazards in the healthcare industry, was posted to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Web site last week.

The new sonography and surgical modules featured in the Hospital eTool aim to keep employers and employees in the health care industry safe from injury or illness. This interactive eTool enable users to answer questions and receive reliable advice on how OSHA regulations would apply to their workplace.

OSHA’s eTools are stand-alone, Web-based training tools on occupational safety and health topics including:

• Construction
• Lockout/Tagout
• Computer Workstations
• Scaffolding
• Teen Worker Safety in Restaurants

Depending on the nature of your business, blending computer and Web-based training with traditional methods can boost training ROI. Especially when budgets are strapped, online training may prove to be the most cost-effective and time-saving instruction method.

Take a look at some older posts on how to get the most out of e-learning:

E-Learning Best Practices: Bridging the generational gap

Training for training sake? Improve training ROI

Mobile learning: Fast and thrifty employee training

Using Second Life for virtual corporate training and communication

Lacking training, workers feel unqualified for jobs

Top managers across the globe agree that training and development is an integral part of their organization’s strategy, but many of their employees feel unqualified to get the job done.

Whether you’re talking about Vice Presidential candidates or a new manager in the office, it turns out that a lack of experience and training is common in the workforce.

Nearly seven out of 10 workers have been asked to complete tasks without receiving appropriate training beforehand, according to a recent SkillSoft global survey.

“The survey also found that regardless of location and job title, the majority of workers think ongoing training and development, and the flexibility to take the training when necessary, are essential, no matter what the employee's position.”

Of North American workers, 68% said that training would have helped them before beginning certain tasks in their jobs.

The top 5 tasks managers are asked to do without adequate training:

1. Project management
2. Technical tasks
3. Managing people
4. Leadership
5. Compliance related tasks

The top functions within an organization where ongoing training and development is most important:

1. Supervisors (70%)
2. Customer Service Team (54%)
3. IT Team (52%)
4. Operations Team (52%)
5. Senior Managers (52%)

It is time that companies give employees the training and development they need to do their jobs correctly. Especially during tough times, where people are taking on more tasks as a result of layoffs and downsizing, employee training is essential to the success of your business.

Have you ever been put in a position where you felt unqualified? Do you feel people in your company lack the experience to excel in their jobs?

Free webinar: Corporate training in a recession

As our economy continues to suffer, corporate budgets are stretched tighter and tighter. Right now it is more important than ever to get the most bang for your buck in every area of your business - including training and development.

In response to a recession, many companies turn to downsizing, eliminating training opportunities and consolidating multiple jobs into one position. Instead of taking the "easy" way out, find creative ways to stretch your training dollar in our free webinar: Squeezing the Most Out of Your Training Budget: Corporate Training in a Recession.

Why training is invaluable during tough times:

• Workers who perform more efficiently with less errors and delays
• Training fosters employee loyalty and encourages development
• Employees taking on extra work can get up to speed more quickly with the proper training
• Training improves morale and employee confidence
• A well trained employee is your best asset

If you are a manager responsible for training your team, an HR professional who regularly presents seminars and classes, or the director of training for your company, this webinar is for you.

Experienced training professionals will share tips and ideas to find better, more cost-effective training opportunities including the pros and cons of in-house versus outside training, the benefits of group versus individualized training, virtual training and tapping into expert talent within your company.

Times may be tough, but good training doesn’t have to be expensive. Now is the worst time to cut back on employee development, according to Management experts like Ram Charan:

“Sacrificing your future for a slightly more comfortable present is not worth it. If you keep building, you can come back strong,” said Charan in Fortune.

Join us on Wednesday, October 15, 2008, at 1 p.m. EST for our free webinar - Squeezing the Most Out of Your Training Budget: Corporate Training in a Recession. Space is limited, so reserve your seat now.

Training for training sake? Improve training ROI

By sending people to seminars and training courses you expect them to come out as better leaders, better employees and better supervisors. The trainee may seem changed for the first few days they return to the office, but their excitement dwindles and things soon go back to the way they were before.

Without hard evidence that training is making a difference, why do businesses keep spending millions on training and development each year? Are we just training for training sake?

Ron Ulrici from R and S Associates brought up this big HR mistake in a recent post, suggesting that training will only be a success if we include it in the overall system within our organizations.

Building on Ulrici’s advice, here are some ways to improve your training ROI and ensure you’re not just training for training’s sake:

Get managers to buy-in. Before sending anyone out to participate in outside training, make sure their boss knows what the training involves and what they can do to foster newly-learned behavior the employee may returned with.

Outline desired goals. HR, trainees and managers should meet prior to a training course to outline clear expectations for employees after completing a training program. Defining training goals before sending employees through the program will create a benchmark to help measure employee progress.

Measure effectiveness in performance appraisals. When appraisal time comes around, address how well or not an employee was able to implement training in their work. Measure the progress a trainee has made and how well they attained their goals.

Follow-up. After completing a training program, HR should meet with each trainee and their supervisors to measure how effective the training was, if the employee is putting their knowledge to use and to asses any difficulties the employee may be having applying the training to their job.

Encourage practice. Work with managers to be sure trainees have a chance to practice what they learned when they get back to the office. Find practical ways for employees to put their knowledge to action with small projects or presentations.

Preview seminars and workshops. Don’t encourage outside training programs before you know exactly what they’re all about. If the messages delivered in the program or seminar don’t match your business culture, the message will be lost. Even worse, employees may be punished for exhibiting behavior learned during training.


Forgetting the follow-up is a sure way to lose any new habits an employee may have learned during training. Get everyone on board and prepared for follow-up training to ensure you’re not just training for training sake.