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Training Tips: David Freeman
Employee training: top 10 tips to maximize ROI
Business In Vancouver
January 19-25, 2010
In order to develop employee skills that will maintain and attract new clients, businesses need to invest in training. However, training can be expensive, so how can a company make sure it is getting the most out of its training dollars?
I have found that people retain and use new knowledge best when they can integrate it into what they already know. Therefore, it’s vital that training be connected to what employees are already doing, and that what they learn can be easily incorporated into ongoing duties.
Before training begins, your employees should clearly understand their learning objectives – how their skills and knowledge will improve by the end of the course. Your trainer should be able to satisfactorily answer questions like: What level of increased ability will the employee gain? How well must the employee demonstrate this ability? Under what conditions must the employee demonstrate these skills?
There are three phases to learning: presentation, practice and feedback. Sixty-six per cent of training time should be focused on practice and feedback. Make sure that the practice phase allows enough time for employees to gain required skills and integrate new knowledge. In the feedback phase, employees should be given written and verbal information regarding where they are in the learning process and what they need to do to complete the training successfully.
The trainer’s approach, business philosophy and orientation should match that of your company’s. If not, the employees will be in conflict with the trainer, which will reduce the amount of learning and possibly result in this conflict being brought into the workplace.
Increased return on investment can be gained by coaching participants to arrive at the course with the right attitude and focus. Remind employees it is their course not the trainer’s. The trainer’s focus should be to meet the learning goals of the business and its employees. Instruct employees that if they find themselves thinking any of the following – this is the wrong mix of students, the course is not providing what I need, the language used or allowed in the instructional setting is inappropriate, I’m not progressing in the way I think I should – or any number of other concerns, they must speak up early.
Employees should not brood, complain behind the instructor’s back or wait for the course evaluation. By that time it is too late and they will have either failed the course or will not have had the success they deserve. Good trainers genuinely want to know participants’ concerns so they can correct whatever the problem is. Good trainers have a vested interest in seeing employees succeed.
My top 10 list provides some tips for employee training:
- Present the training in digestible amounts that employees can manage.
- Organize the training in a way that the employee will see as logical.
- Make clear the training benefits for both the organization and the employee.
- Set defined expectations for the employee and the instructor.
- Ensure plenty of practice time is built into the training.
- Training should use repetition of employee skills to reinforce learning.
- Participation while in the course should be encouraged.
- Training materials should be relevant to the employee’s job and include problem-solving processes that the employee can apply after the course.
- A variety of learning methods and multi-media tools should be used to suit different learning styles.
- Training should be flexible so employees can adapt the material to their individual learning style, and take it at their own pace. •
David Freeman is the acting manager training for the 1,500-employee Commissionaires BC.
Read David Freeman's bio
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