“If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” This famous quote by Zig Ziglar, legendary author, salesman, and motivational speaker, speaks volumes when it comes to employee training and development. What goals and expectations do you have in place for your training program? How do you measure success within your employee training and development system?

Not having a training strategy hinders you from measuring how well your team performs and keeps you from accurately gauging customer satisfaction levels. On the other hand, a well-planned starting line will carry you through to a solid victory at the finish.

The ability to identify issues in your training and development program is a positive step toward achieving desired behavior and long-term success within your organization.

Let’s take a look at some signs that indicate a need for improvement in your employee training program.

Resistant Management

  • Unwilling to accept and manage change
  • Misaligned training and operating goals among leadership
  • Reluctance to invest in training

A stagnant training program will stifle growth. If your management team is unwilling to see the need for change, accept change, and manage change, your bottom line will suffer. Implementing a training program, along with a healthy learning management system, is indeed an investment. But it’s been proven time and again to offer a positive return.

Your leadership’s ultimate goal should be to align training and operating goals to enhance employees’ skills and promote customer satisfaction.

Unmotivated Employees

  • Lackluster employee performance
  • High employee turnover rate
  • Decreased employee engagement, morale, and motivation

If you’re not sure if your training program needs improvement, ask your staff. Allow your team to be honest even if you think the response might be unfavorable. Then, listen. Be open to hearing the good and the not-so-good.

Are your employees confused by a lack of job training? Are they clear on your desired outcomes? Are they reaching milestones? By tracking their performance, engagement, motivation, and retention, you will see if there is room for improvement in your program.

Unsatisfied Customers

  • Low customer-attraction rate
  • Poor customer retention
  • Consistent negative customer feedback

While a robust training program creates the groundwork for thriving employees, it also supports a healthy customer base. Starting from the top with a management team willing to invest in their group will inevitably trickle down to a workforce that is proud of their work.

Factoring in this internal investment and pride, customers will have very little chance to be overlooked and underserved. Unsatisfied customers are one sign a training program needs improvement. However, customer satisfaction is undoubtedly the mark of a flourishing training operation.

In conclusion, a stagnant or non-existent training program will cripple your organization’s opportunity for growth and development. A goal-based, forward-thinking training program will support your long-term employee development and business ROI goals.

Investing in the right learning management system is an integral part of an effective employee training program. OSI’s learning management system, ExxTend Learning™, has the features and tools you’ll need to administer and document employee training. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Continuous learning that challenges an individual to go beyond their job’s primary roles and responsibilities will provide a sense of ownership and stability.