Top 20 Features for Workforce Training

Objectives

Enhancing the knowledge, skills and positive attributes of any employee, intentioned towards achieving enterprise goals is a fundamental objective of training. When aligned to business objectives, a good training program will help employees become better at their jobs with a higher degree of commitment and productivity. The gains for the employee are in terms of self-development, job satisfaction, personal growth, and a higher market value.

Importance of Need-Based Training

A win-win situation for both the employer and the employee, however, will arise only from training that is focused on such gains. Each enterprise and its employees are uniquely placed in terms of their jobs, their profiles, needs, and requirements. This calls for tailor-made company-specific programs that are best suited to the situation at hand.

Contrast this with MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) programs that provide a plethora of online knowledge in almost any sphere. People enroll in these programs essentially as a means of self-development, as preparation for entering the job market, enhancing resumes, supplemental learning, or even as doing something of personal interest. MOOCs have created their niche in the learning landscape and play an important role in an individual's learning journey. However since the programs are of generalized content, to cater to a wider audience, whether they meet the requirements of a specific business is moot. This of course does not preclude the MOOCs platform from being used to deliver customized corporate training and specialized content to a specific set of employees. The corporate can leverage MOOCs to provide learning relevant to their needs and for mutual advantage to both the workforce and the business.

20 Features

Training given and taken with a specific purpose in mind is beneficial to both the workforce and the enterprise. The objective is to build a proficient workforce that is suitably empowered to diligently work towards meeting organizational goals. To make training a true value proposition it must therefore have features that make each aspect of the training cycle i.e. need assessment, course structure, delivery mechanism, and evaluation, rich and impactful.

Some of the notable features which lie at the core of an effective corporate training program under each of the above-mentioned aspects are elaborated below :

A. Needs Assessment

• Determining desired business outcomes

  what are the business goals that are expected to be achieved via training. Once clarity on the goals is listed, the means of achieving these objectives should be worked out.

• Doing Task Analysis

  which tasks are best suited to meet the wished outcomes, what is the current contribution of these tasks to the goals are some pertinent questions that need to be answered.

• Worker Analysis

  find out the available level of skills and performance, identify the set of workers most suited for optimal task completion

• Skill gap Analysis

  what is the desired competency level and how to bridge the skill gap

• Ensuring stakeholder's buy-in

  showing the clear linkage between the training and strategic goals will ensure support across the board. Both employers and employees will identify with the merits of training, which will serve as strong motivating factors.

B. Course Structure

• Design

  the course design must incorporate the purpose of the training and clearly show the linkage between the expected result and the competency required to achieve it.

• Length of training

  the number of sessions and duration should be such that they make learning easy and not onerous. Learning through short nugget type formats and microlearning is known to be more effective than long drawn programs which do not sustain the attention of the learner.

• Course Content

  material should be specific and pertinent to the training objectives. Content should include a variety of techniques to retain the interest of the learner. Multimedia usage, data visualization, and on-the-job linked case studies and real-life situations keep the employee engaged with the training

• Provide for frequent testing

  tests, quizzes, Q&As, discussions, etc. are good means of determining how well the imparted knowledge is being assimilated. Summaries, key points, and training reinforcements at the end of/during sessions help in retention and reinforce learning.

• Ensure Feedback

  learner feedback on content, topics, method of teaching, and overall relevance of the training should be in-built in the course. This will help to fine-tune courses and close any perceived gaps and shortcomings.

C. Delivery Mechanism

• Purpose statement

  the purpose, learning goals, and outcomes must be enunciated at the outset. Emphasis on efficiency, productivity, skill enhancement, and gains for the individual and the corporate should be conveyed so that learners see the value a particular training will bring.

• Open Communication

  the course to have open and two-way communication opportunities and channels. This leads to better involvement and attention.

• Draw meaningful comparisons

  relating the inputs to real-life job situations and experiences provides a sense of affinity and leads to greater receptivity and retention.

• Implement Active Learning methods

  these ensure greater participation, interaction, and learner introspection making learning an attractive proposition providing the learners deeper insights.

• Omnichannel delivery

  in current digital times, mobile devices are indispensable and training should be accessible on mobile devices for learners to have an anytime-anywhere learning experience.

D. Evaluation

• Do ongoing assessment

  evaluation is not a one-time exercise. Programs must be constantly evaluated and measured against the set objectives and KPIs achievement.

• Process review

  verifies and ensures that the elements and established processes for the training were duly followed. Determine gaps and plug.

• Content and Delivery review

  Comprehensively examine and apply learner feedback for shortcomings and inadequacies so that courses and delivery are more on point to learner expectation.

• Impact Analysis

  determine how the training has impacted the trainees and the organization. Are there measurable and perceptible changes in employee productivity and engagement? Are the jobs and tasks being done with a higher degree of efficiency and commitment? Are meeting organizational targets showing an upward trend? Data analytics and observation checklists must be used to verify training impact on the organization and the workforce.

• Documentation and Records

  recording the various profiles and outcomes is an essential component of training. The documents can be revisited for data analytics, placements, promotions, appraisals, compliance audits, ROI, etc. Data security to be ensured.

Learn from the Experts

From the above, it is clear that training requires a well-planned strategic decision. Each aspect of training has to be comprehensively understood so that results are meaningful for both the enterprise and the workforce. Current technologies for this purpose provide an indispensable solution without which feature-rich training is an onerous task. We at Gyrus are deeply embedded in anything to do with training. Our renowned LMS has found ready acceptance across the globe, with future-ready, state-of-the-art technology features that can be easily integrated with and customized to specific business training strategies and requirements. Feel free to contact us to partner with you in your exciting training journey.