Learning The Types of Employee Training

Enhancing employees’ knowledge is of utmost importance to organizations nowadays. If employees feel that they are receiving training and skills which both make them more knowledgeable and more able to perform their daily work at a higher level, they will feel more engaged and motivated. This reflects in their performance, and helps a firm achieve its goals while retaining its competitiveness. Yet implementing the proper strategy for types of employee training is not easy.  Let’s face it, just as children learn in different ways, so do adults in the office.  That is, there is a diversity of learners, and different workers learn better through different learning styles. When you are planning training programs for your staff, keep in mind the characteristics of these learning styles in order to effectively tailor the training delivery methods. One thing that needs to be made clear to all employees is the value of what they are learning. Prior to any course or lesson, it is best to outline what they will be learning, and how this will benefit them as individuals and as employees in their daily tasks. Also, employees need to be actively involved in the learning process. The environment where the lessons will be held needs to be seen to as well. With that said, take a look at these specific tips for how managers can both accept the diversity of learners, and adapt accordingly. Composing employee training manual will help you achive the best results.

Different Learning Models and Types of Employee Training

The first thing is to recognize that people learn in various ways, which include: 

• Learning by Experimenting – Some employees will learn best if they are allowed to experiment, or do something in practice. Trial and error is often used in this type of approach.
• Learning by Observing – Some employees will manage to understand something better if they watch someone else doing this particular task, and then they will try to do it themselves afterwards. The more these employees are allowed to participate in the learning, the better.
• Learning by Inquiring – These types of employees will learn if they are allowed to comprehend the whole process. So, for instance, they will need to inquire about something, evaluate the various possibilities, look for alternatives, and see what others have to say as well. By spending time on these various facets, from inquiring to consulting, to evaluating and finalization, they will manage to learn.
• Learning by Patterning – These employees will learn if they are given a step-by-step overview of the task at hand. Thus they will form patterns and link them to each other until the process is finalized.

There is no one good style of learning, and it is important to value them all. Besides, they may be interlinked with one another as well. So it’s not about choosing one learning style over another.  Yet there are certain tips that I believe are universally successful in reaching out to learners of all types.   

Don’t Overwhelm Employees during Training Itself

Studies have shown that over a period of days, people remember only a little of what they read and only a little more of what they hear. But they remember a much greater percentage of what they see and hear. And they retain the most knowledge from what they actually do. This means that the most effective training involves demonstrations and hands-on learning.  Tools like WalkMe, which guides users to learn how to perform tasks IN THE MOMENT as they are actually performing them come in handy here.  In addition, managers can encourage the use of continued learning online, through e-learning software, webinars, social media, and more.  However, this isn’t often how we set up orientation sessions. It’s important to remember that when designing and scheduling training sessions, to keep in mind that a) people have limited attention spans, b) too much information at one time is not a good thing, and c) that it should not be forgotten that the goal of training a new employees is not for that to memorize a series of facts or instructions as the end all to be all, but rather, that in the long term, their talents are maximized and fully realized in a performance level that is as efficient and beneficial to the business overall.  So let’s keep in mind the need for compact, and concise information, in relatively short time intervals is to the benefit of everyone involved.

Make Training Engaging & Fun

Types of employee training, in addition to the short time intervals of sessions, it would also be important to make them as engaging as possible, and – this should not be seen as an evil word in business – FUN. Let’s treat the worker well, and the worker, in return, will likely perform at a higher level.  Furthermore, we shouldn’t think of training as a manual you open to learn how to operate a product when you first open the package.  Use techniques such as gamification, and don’t keep your trainees in once place.  Design training so they can move around and interact with others. Additionally, the more your employees will be able to relate what they are learning with real-life situations or tasks, the better the results will be. Training should be offered in such a way that it is understandable. Young employees will prefer that you include the use of modern applications, but older employees may feel uneasy. Thus it is important to consider these aspects and invest in hybrid training, which will help to cater for different ages.

Embracing the Diversity

Above all and the subject about types of employee training, I believe that mangers should embrace the diversity of learners.  By personalizing learning – to the extent possible – we can create a more engaged and motivated workforce.  Firstly, each employee will feel the personal attention paid to him/her and will appreciate it interest and value the company sees in them.  Second, personalized learning allows for a more unique opportunity that the knowledge being imparted (and facilitated) is directly applicable and valuable to their own personal growth, and their part of the larger team and company success. Finally, diversity and the need for personalization and adaptation don’t stop at training itself.  Employees perform differently – not necessarily better or worse, but differently – and the hope is that they will continue to grow long after initial training is complete.  People will always be unique, and managers can utilize that in a positive way. Further information can be found on employee training template page.

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