Creating an Employee Training and Development Program

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Creating an employee training and development program is theoretically simple. After all, most employees learn new things regularly while on the job. However, as impressive as this may be, it’s also important to remember that this form of learning is incidental in nature, and does not offer a lot of practical rewards for most companies, which in turn effectively reduces their value.

The inverse of incidental learning is intentional learning, and this form of learning happens when the learner intentionally engages in activities designed to help them learn new things. In a corporate environment, such activities are usually – directly or indirectly – related to an employee training and development program, and such programs are essential for creating a highly trained and highly engaged workforce.

How to Create an Employee Training and Development Program

1. Establish Goals and Responsibilities

The first step in developing a training and development program is to set up employee development goals, and at the same time, appoint the personnel who will be responsible for it. In order to do this, the following things will have to be done.

– Provide a well-defined job description for those in charge of the program – Provide training to personnel in order to help them achieve basic competencies for their job functions. – Identify the knowledge and skill sets required by your organization in the foreseeable future. – Identify the learning goals and opportunities for promising personnel who wish to participate in the training program. – Create a support staff to help trainers, supervisors and managers in overseeing the program. – Create a strategic framework for the entire training program

By establishing goals for the training program, and responsibilities for its supervisors, an employee training plan will have a well-defined foundation by which to meet your organization’s needs and requirements.

2. Carry Out An Assessment for All the Various Position Within Your Organization

A position assessment is necessary for analyzing the present personnel requirements of a particular organization and how they might change in the future. To do this, an organization will have to do three things:

– First, it must identify the job requirements and performance expectations of a various job positions – Second, it must identify the knowledge and skill sets needed to enhance the performance and profitability of such positions – Third, it must assess how the role of such positions might change in the near future.

In addition to assessing the viability of all the various job positions in your organization, it’s also important to consider how employee training and development may benefit both the organization and its personnel. Such considerations will not only help the training and development program establish better goals; they can also help the organization create a feasible time frame for its training program.

3. Identify the Training and Development Strategies to Be Used for the Program

After the employee development goals, plans and assessments have been set, it’s time to consider the practical side of training and development. To do this, two things will have to be considered. First, there is the issue of choosing which methods to use, and secondly, acquiring the right materials needed to implement the training and development program.

With regards to methods, there are plenty to choose from. Several good examples include on-the-job training, job rotations, personnel mentoring, job aids, coaching, outsourced learning and many more. Of course, you will need to choose a method that is well suited for the needs of your own company and at the same time make sure that they are in line with your training and development goals.

As for acquiring tools and materials needed for your company to carry out its training and development policies, this process will depend on the methods that you want to use. For example, if your training and development program emphasizes e-learning then your organization will need a well-developed network and database. On the other hand, if the program’s focus is on outsourced learning then your organization will simply need to negotiate a good deal with the trainers or contractors who are in charge of the training your personnel.

4. Put Everything Into Action

After the previous steps have been accomplished, the last step is to implement the training program. This is, in effect, your organization’s training and development policy. To do this, the following steps will have to be carried out:

– Review the plan with all the supervisors and personnel involved – Implement work on the program – Evaluate the progress of the program, and make changes when necessary

Conclusion

Creating a training and development program is challenging in many ways, because it requires a macro view of personnel management and strategic thinking. Despite these challenges, however, such programs are necessary for the continued growth of any organization. So in order to secure your company’s future, it’s important that you develop a good training and development program.

Additional information is available on training and development articles page. Good Luck.

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Jason is the Lead Author & Editor of TrainingStation Blog. Jason established the Training Station blog to create a source for news and discussion about some of the issues, challenges, news, and ideas relating to training, learning and development.