How to Develop Targeted Employee Training Programs: A Guide for HR Execs
While most of your people come to work with an education and experience, most need training to fully ramp up to a level where they can participate in day-to-day operations. As time passes, upskilling or training on new technology solutions is also often required and necessary for continued development.
However, one type of training method may not be appropriate for your entire team. Employees are at different skill levels in various subjects and have preferences for how they learn best, so sending an entire department to complete the same course may not always work out. Targeted training programs deliver massive benefits while trimming costs and giving employees control over their own learning.
Assess What Training is Needed
Designing an initial training program for new employees is relatively simple. Some training is mandatory in most organizations, and some is more unique to the product or tools. Trim unnecessary courses if, for example, they have used a particular technology solution for years and don’t need a refresher. Sometimes, a one-on-one coaching session on how your business uses the tool rather than training on the tool itself may make more sense.
To get an idea as a manager about what skills your people need, consider reviewing their activity in Prodoscore, a data visualization solution that provides insight into how employees use different cloud-based tools. If, for example, they are spending less time using your CRM than other employees with the same duties, they may need additional training on that CRM. On the other hand, if they are taking longer to do things in Excel than others, that may signal they need training in that particular app.
Of course, the employee’s wishes are probably the most important. Ask them regularly if there are any skills they want to acquire or brush up on.
Benefits of Customized Employee Training
Ongoing employee training has multiple benefits. Adherence to quality standards, increased productivity, and improved employee morale and retention are all good enough reasons on their own to offer continuous learning.
Customizing training can save time and money by allowing employees with more experience to skip courses that they don’t need. Customization can also empower your team by involving them in their own training program design, which typically results in greater interest and motivation to succeed.
Get the Right HR Tech Solutions
You can choose to be proactive about upskilling by using a learning management system (LMS) to offer various courses that you think your staff may need. There are many companies that offer solutions like that, such as Litmos or Blackboard. These are good for general courses, but if employees need a more in-depth skill set, consider ongoing education programs offered by local colleges. If you can offer actual certifications, all the better, as employees prefer credentialed learning over non-credentialed learning.
Work with your HR team in-house to design ongoing training for each employee; they will generally know the best providers and how to measure success. If you do not have an in-house HR team, consider hiring an HR professional to craft programs on a case-by-case basis. Employees should be given a set amount of time per month to work on their upskilling. If they need extra time to learn a particular skill, you can decide that with them individually.
It isn’t necessary to create an entirely new training program from scratch for each employee - work with HR to build a template that allows for customization. If, for example, you have specific KPIs an employee has to hit, you can add in extra courses that will help them meet those KPIs, such as specific sales skills or marketing analytics.
Customized employee training programs will keep your company nimble, innovative, and ready for anything that clients may throw at you. Most importantly, they will keep your staff happy and eager to learn.
Do you want to see where training may be necessary in your organization? Contact us today for a full product demonstration and download our ebook to understand what you need to do to unlock the potential of your team.
