How to train employees – a quick guide for managers
A guide for managers
Training is the often forgotten function of a manager’s job, because, well, who has time for that? We’re too busy putting out fires and scraping to hit those quarterly targets. But training, the boring brother of HR, should be at the top of managers’ minds. Why should we care how to train employees? The more we can build competent teams and well-rounded individuals, the more we can rely on them to take on those tasks that we strain under.
Not convinced? The research backs up the importance of training. The Association for Talent Development (ATD) states that companies who spend significantly on workplace training enjoy a 24% higher profit margin. A recent survey of 4,300 staff also found that 74% felt they weren’t reaching their full potential at work. So why are we not collectively demanding higher training budgets? Well, training is boring. Let’s be honest, it’s dull. Sitting in a room, listening to someone drone on. It’s mind numbing. So is sitting in front of a tedious eLearning course that’s often full of out-of-date information. So we put it at the back of our minds until we really have to do it.
This begs the question, how do we make training engaging, rewarding and built to cater for people that would probably rather be doing something else, anything else, with their time? Simple really, we just change the rules of traditional L&D.
How to train employees with mobile learning
One thing that is truly broken with traditional L&D is the delivery of lessons. We’ve all sat in a room like school kids staring at a stuttering corporate trainer telling us about the latest this or that.
The problem is in the method of delivery. The organization required to get staff in one place at one time is a sap on the time of everyone. And when you do get people together half of them aren’t in the mood, the other half are distracted.
Mobile learning puts training at the fingertips of staff when and where they want. The convenience to complete your training at anytime makes your L&D content much more digestible, engaging and effective. Couple this with a powerful analytics engine and you’ll be able to monitor how well they are doing in addition to seeing who has and hasn’t completed their training and send them a friendly reminder.
This will see completion and engagement levels skyrocket.
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Gamification – a training method for my staff
Gamification, aside from being the latest buzzword, is a fantastic way to engage staff in training. The why is simple. The human brain is primed to engage with content that gives small, repeated bursts of positive reinforcement.
By rolling out training that includes positive feedback staggered throughout the learning process staff not only derive more enjoyment from training but training becomes a social exercise. Staff begin comparing who got the most stars just like those kids in high school that would compare their exam scores, the ones that we were secretly jealous of. This makes the learning process more engaging for everyone.
Microlearning – information to snack on
Training is more often than not delivered in chucks. Large, meaty, chewy bites that lose all flavour by the time you get them down. Lessons trail off into, staff start staring out the window, and you spend the next hour paying people to think about places they’d rather be.
Microlearning lessons are small digestible snacks that present new ideas and reinforce them. They allow staff to learn on the go and when they have a spare five minutes rather than disruptive bulk learning.
Microlearning also keeps content fresh, interesting and to the point. Lessons are efficient and staff quickly up-skill on the key points while cutting out the waffle.
How to train employees: What’s next for managers?
If you care how to train employees, investment in staff growth is an ongoing process. But it is one that pays dividends. All the research points to staff training improving staff retention, happiness and profit margins. So in the end it’s a no brainer.
EdApp gives you a quick and easy way to author great lessons and get them in front of staff at the right time. Staff training is a must to keep up in a changing work environment so we should at least make it fun and effective. To find out more about our authoring tool and mobile LMS, get in touch at enquiries@edapp.com. You can also try EdApp’s Mobile LMS and authoring tool for free by signing up here.
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Author
Guest Author Daniel Brown
Daniel Brown is a senior technical editor and writer that has worked in the education and technology sectors for two decades. Their background experience includes curriculum development and course book creation.