Employees Training and Development: Mistakes Which Are Best Avoided

Employees training and development is commonly leveraged to enhance employee skill sets. In an ideal world this would go well, but unfortunately companies fall into common pitfalls which can impede training practices. Can you imagine the potential for disaster when employees aren’t trained properly? This can severely impact company performance, especially when you end up with a workforce who don’t have the prerequisite skills to be successful. Mistakes do happen, they’re inevitable to a certain extent, but it’s your job to reduce their regularity. By doing so you’ll safeguard against the negative impact of errors. Employees training and development is critical, so it should be treated with the respect it deserves. It is the perfect opportunity to ingrain company culture into employees. When executed badly, staff can end up disillusioned and confused. They might also fail to absorb information which is essential for performing to the best of their ability. A poorly equipped workforce is usually the result of badly executed employees training and development. Building a team of experts is a huge responsibility, but by learning from the insight below you’ll protect against unforeseen obstacles. Learn from these common employees training and development mistakes to create the best training program imaginable!

Running Before You Can Walk

Any effective training program begins with analysis. If you try to do so much too soon, the likelihood is your strategy will fall flat on its face. To avoid circumstance like this you should conduct analysis as and when suitable. It helps to take a step back and evaluate your current situation. Prioritize target areas, essentially focusing on identified areas of weakness. You can then build your employees training and development on a solid foundation. L&D is usually under intense scrutiny, especially with regards to receiving return on investment. It is one of the first areas to be cut in times of financial duress, so when things get tight budgeters try to justify cutbacks. Though you might be under organizational pressure, resist the urge to jump right in. With a measured approach you can take a tailored view for creating an employees training and development program. It might take a bit longer than expected to devise, but you’ll reap the benefits of better results. Instill confidence in your team with a well-thought out, rewarding training program.

Poorly Focused Objectives

With a well-designed development program, learners will be given clear objectives to reach by the end of the proceedings. Onboarding is a fantastic opportunity to set the precedent for future L&D. Their end goal will be to master objectives so they’re competent enough to perform well in an ever-evolving business climate. Objectives outline the specific elements learners will have mastered upon completion. Goals on the other hand are much broader. They reference what participants will be able to achieve once they’ve completed their course. Goals dictate objectives, and objectives dictate assessment. Here is a practical example of the distinction between the two: Goal: Raise knowledge of pricing Objective: Understanding x uses of the new feature Assessment: An exam with questions testing knowledge of the new feature. Using this goal, objective, assessment model will help focus your objectives, targeting specific areas of improvement. Determining exactly what you need to improve can provide clarity and enhanced direction on route to implementing successful objectives.

Failure to Consider Practicalities

Companies commonly fail to think practically. Goals and objectives are drawn up in theory, sounding great in an idealistic world, but are they realistic? The practicalities of implementation must be considered throughout. Remember to interject elements of realism throughout the planning process. Always consider whether your objectives are realistic, relative to resources, budget, time frame etc. Determine what is achievable and avoid seeking perfection. Think about whether you can implement video resources, whether instructor-led sessions will run, and how many courses you can introduce in total.

Overload

If there’s one thing learners can’t tolerate it’s being bombarded with information. This is a counterproductive approach which can lead to poor retention of information and confusion in general. Overload can reduce engagement, and demotivate staff to engage with future training programs. To overcome this issue, focus on splitting content into manageable chunks. This will change your employees training and development perception, and they’ll be much more willing to tackle their learning materials as a result. Capitalize on the average attention span of the user, which is usually 15-20 mins.

Teacher Taking On Too Much

As a teacher, it’s easy to take on too much, but perhaps not recommended. Help should be embraced with open arms at every juncture. There will be various team leaders and managers on hand to help, so be certain to capitalize on their presence! Consult with experts for advice on subject matter, since they’ll be well-equipped to offer tried and tested guidance. It also helps to consult with learners themselves, since they’ll know their role better than anyone. By creating an open dialogue with multiple parties, you can create insightful content, with various knowledge imparted across the board. Repurpose and redistribute existing materials as and when necessary, but perhaps modify it so it’s more relevant to your situation. You can always run a pilot to ensure content is up to par, giving learners a chance to offer feedback on what can be improved.