Home » Employee Training » Creative Training Methods Everyone Should Try
Traditional training methods are slowly losing potency, especially with the influx of modern technology.
The main objective with modern day training is to make learning fun. This increases its impact, and makes reaching training goals more realistic. Conventional training is commonly associated with mundane teaching, which is less interactive and will struggle to meet expectations.
Technological advancements have allowed those who leverage training to make it more interesting and engaging, adding to productivity. There are many trainings to consider, with a diverse range of models that can be utilized to great effect.
Different learning goals can be accomplished with different methods, but what new age trainings are worth considering? With a combination of the creative approaches outlined below, you’ll be more capable of equipping employees with the skills they need to be successful in their role.
Tailor Trainings
The sooner you understand everyone learns differently, the better. You should appreciate everyone has their own individual preference, and differences should be embraced rather than rejected.
Some people will benefit from learning in the morning, others from small rather than large chunks of information. Some will benefit from interactive sources, others will prefer reading and writing. Learning more about your team will allow you to tailor trainings accordingly, so you can more effectively meet the needs of participants.
Online training was one considered a one-size-fits-all approach, but it can now be personalized in line with user needs and expectations. Its potency is increased when you follow up with contextual training, to consolidate the material in real life situations. It is easy to track results, and the ability to measure results easily allows you to flexibly tweak your training strategy.
This is perfected for a tailored approach to trainings.
Prioritize Fun
Reduce some of the negative connotations that come with learning by making it fun. This will increase the retention of information, while motivating staff to embrace training.
Education should inspire the workforce, so they’re more confident in their role. If you incorporate fun, staff will be more emotionally connected to company objectives. To make training resources enjoyable, use interactive media, images, short texts, and video. You should preference your company values throughout training, while remembering to not take yourself too seriously.
Hands On Training
There’s nothing better than giving an employee a practical taste of scenarios they’ll encounter on a regular basis. Making connections between theory and real life is difficult at the best of times, but when you actively experience what you’re learning about, it has a far greater impact.
This is a much better way of ensuring the skills learned translate to day-to-day tasks. Wherever possible, ensure you give staff a chance to experiment in real life contexts, applying what they’ve learned. This is a great way to build confidence, with fewer risks when you practice in mock situations.
Mobile Training Apps
Modernizing trainings is recommended, to align your objectives with modern society. The popularity of mobile technology has created an avenue to explore new learning horizons, which bring added flexibility and convenience with them.
Mobile learning modules are gaining prominence, especially since they can be updated regularly to keep employees up-to-speed with the latest goings on. They’ll give staff a chance to learn in a context they feel comfortable in, and because training can be performed outside of work, staff will have more time to focus on their core competencies in-house.
Switch Roles
A temporary role switch allows staff to understand the everyday functioning of other departments from an enlightened perspective. This level of empathy can help counterparts understand each other better, making collaboration easier on route to better results.
For example, marketing members could occasionally shadow salespeople, to gain insight to help them fulfill their daily roles. This encourages an alignment of overall objectives, which is highly advantageous for increased performance. When conducting staff trainings, this is a great way to broaden skillsets and diversify employee expectations.
A Combined Approach
Blending training methods is a mutually beneficial arrangement. It’s great to capitalize on the benefits of different approaches, extracting maximum efficiency by allowing employees to learn at their own speed.
A combination of training methods facilitates better collaboration, sparking creativity while doubling up as team bonding. By giving your employees multiple experiences, you can more effectively track results, and determine which methods work best.
Encourage staff feedback, which you should pay close attention to. Your training processes should be a work in progress, with a continuous improvement philosophy at their core.
A great example of complementary training methods is online and in-person. This will help to fill associated knowledge gaps. Having engaged in online training, learners will require experts to clear up any confusion in work contexts. Employees will consequently gain a better understanding, with a reference point to clarify confusion.
