Ensuring your staff is up-to-date on the latest industry trends, regulations and more is crucial to your business. While the goal of most training programs is to boost employees’ skills and overall performance, creating a comprehensive training system should go well beyond just that.
When developing a program for your staff, consider the following:
Determine where your gaps are
Which employees need training? What type of training do they need? Doing an assessment can help determine this. Survey your employees to get their opinions on where the focus should be, and take a look at performance reviews to see if there are any commonalities.
Set clear objectives
The gaps in training will help you determine what your goals are. Maybe you uncover weaknesses in your sales program, or perhaps your online presence is weak. After you determine your main objective, it will be easier to set expectations for what attendees will learn and see how that supports your overall business needs.
Develop materials that appeal to your audience
Before creating a plan, determine how your audience learns best. You can explore this through surveying your employees to see their preferred methods of learning. What methods or tools will be the most effective? Is there a particular format that works better than others? You may want to use different methods (i.e. study materials, visuals, videos, etc.) to reach all types of learners.
Design training materials
You’ll want to put thought into creating your materials to ensure your employees stay engaged and learn what you want them to. Consider including the following:
• Pictures
• Graphs
• Step-by-step instructions
• Outside resources (when appropriate)
• Troubleshooting information
These should be made available both online and offline. Print out copies during the training, but make them available digitally as well so that the information can always be accessed.
Implement the program
After all your research is done, it’s time to perform the training. Determine your schedule and the optimal duration of each session by reviewing employee and management availability, ensuring everyone can attend.
During training, be sure to pause for assessment of the material, monitor employees and do some sort of assessment to ensure that key points are being understood.
Post-session evaluation
Following the program, take the time to evaluate it. Did employees leave with an understanding of the material? Is there anything that should be changed? What would improve the program? Did you schedule enough time for your sessions? You should also survey employees to see what they thought of the program.
If you need a helping hand in creating your training materials, talk to your friends at Allegra. We can help you develop the materials you need to ensure your program is a success. Call us today to set up a free consultation!
