How to Create a Training Plan

Employee training and development can be considered a key instrument of proactive and adaptive action of a modern company in relation to the existing environment and one of the essential elements for the formation of the overall development strategy of each company.

Although there is a saying that there is no such thing as planned happiness, in the case of learning, planning is a prerequisite for success. A clear plan allows you to control the learning process, and to assess how close the target goal is.

Certainly, there is not just one right way to learn, as it is necessary to match different possibilities and the most desirable learning styles.

The efficiency of the learning process can be improved. People, whether they learn individually or in groups, as a team or in organizations, can learn from people from their environment and apply what they have learned to new situations.

What is a training plan?

The training plan, alongside an employee training plan template, determines the precise goal of the training, and during the training, the realization can be monitored, and finally, the realization can be evaluated. Besides, the training plan contains a framework for action: target group, learning goal, expectations after training, content (it is necessary to logically arrange topics), sources, literature, teaching/ technical aids, methods, time, space, and so on. The training plan must contain everything the instructor needs to conduct the training.

By preparing the content for the staff training plan, the trainer shapes and expresses the didactic idea of the realization of the training.

The primary questions that the trainer should answer when defining the content of the training are:

• What content do I want to convey to the participants to enable them to achieve the desired training goals?
• What teaching methods do I want to use for individual topics?
• What materials do I need to produce to accompany the training content?

Following is a brief training plan for the management of human resources.

Human resource management – an introduction

TYPE OF TRAINING: Online
NUMBER OF HOURS: 6
NUMBER OF DAYS: 1

CONTENT

Historical perspective of human resources

• Changes that have influenced the development of modern HRM
• Concept and development of human resources management function
• Business strategy
• HRM as part of the management

Human resources management functions

• Employment
• Professional development
• Encouraging success at work
• Discovery of managerial potentials
• Information in the field of human resources

The importance of good interpersonal relationships for the efficiency of the organization

• Approaches in resolving interpersonal relationships
• Principles of creating good interpersonal relationships
• Diagnosis (determination) of interpersonal relationships
• The role of managers in creating good interpersonal relationships
• Determining the character of social relations – a sociometric test
• Is there an ideal manager?
• Good manager

GOAL

Improve knowledge and skills of human resource management, introduce listeners to the elements of human resource management, and upgrade existing knowledge about the importance of education and training, as well as the relevance of assessment and motivation to perform tasks more efficiently.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Strengthening and development of existing knowledge and skills in the elements of human resources management, understanding of the complex process of human resources management, and practical examples to develop the ability for efficient development and management of HRM units.

TARGETED GROUP

HR and marketing department

How to create a training plan?

Determining needs

One of the preconditions for the training to be successful is to determine the learning needs of the participants. Only when we find out what are the real needs of the people who will be participants in the upcoming seminar, workshop, lecture, or some other type of knowledge transfer, can we start designing it. There are at least three types of needs to consider before embarking on the essence of training or program. These are: the physical needs, the need to establish relationships with others in the group, and the need to acquire knowledge

• Physical Needs – It is important to make sure that the participants feel comfortable during the preparation
• Needs to establish relationships with others in the group – For a person to become a participant, it is necessary to enable them to meet social needs from the very beginning. This means personally greeting each person as soon as they arrive, start with exercises aimed at getting to know each other to introduce everyone, to encourage participation, develop trust, and create a relaxed atmosphere…
• Knowledge acquisition needs – Identifying knowledge acquisition needs at the very beginning of the program allows you to set goals and tasks that best suit your participants

Training goals

Once the trainer has identified the needs of the participants, those needs need to be translated into training goals. The objectives of the training are based on the needs of the participants and represent a statement of what the participants should receive during the seminar, in terms of knowledge of skills and change of attitudes. They permeate the thematic areas that the trainer covers during the course (content); they influence the choice of methods used (process) and serve as a basis for them to assess whether the needs of the participants are met. It is important to note that goals are formulated differently depending on the type of change we want to produce: do we influence participants ’knowledge, their skills, or do we want to influence attitudes…

Training design

Designing training requires a lot of time and thought and a lot of time should be devoted to it before the training itself. The first key element is to determine the number of training days and work schedule for those days.

It is important to note that a good coach is flexible when it comes to needs and circumstances that occur unplanned during the seminar. During the preparation, determine which lecture or exercise can be omitted if it turns out that there is not enough time for everything that is planned. It is much more important that participants have the opportunity to fully master one subject and learn how to apply it than to get a lot of superficial information in a short time. Quality, not quantity, is the rule that should be followed.

Flow

First, we need to devise a logical course of training – which topics will be covered, how much time will be devoted to each of them, in what order, and how we will connect the various topics.

Level

Let’s make sure that the training is at the appropriate level – which will depend on the participants themselves and their previous experience. This can be determined in advance by the organizers, by indicating in the announcement of the program to the public to whom the course is intended (new volunteers, experienced executive directors, board members, project managers, etc.). Careful selection of participants is very important (if possible) because it provides a common, uniform starting point.

Key learning points

Determine the main messages (key points) of each session. This allows the trainer to know what to convey to the participants and to fully understand and master the material in that area.

Methods

It is a real art to decide which method best suits the content. The method we choose to use must always allow the key messages of the course to be conveyed and learned. Methods that are interesting and fun, but do not serve to transfer knowledge will lead to dissatisfaction and frustration of the participants.

Teaching aids

Provide appropriate audio-visual aids in advance (flipchart, overhead projector, and slides, video, projector for photo slides, pictures, posters, models). Well-prepared written materials are also very important, because participants will not have to take notes, and will be able to better focus on the lecture.

Division of responsibilities

If more than one trainer is working, it must be determined who is responsible for which session. There must be a clear division of responsibilities, as well as that the responsibility is evenly distributed.

How to integrate your training plan with your LMS

The goal of the planning phase of the LMS integration is to design an LMS usage scenario according to a specific employee’s training plan and in accordance with the company’s understanding of pedagogical and technical principles and possibilities of the system.

It is equally important that the LMS scenario fits into the training goals/ program. This scenario is a schematic picture of what will happen during learning and can be used as a planning tool. In the scenario, it is necessary to indicate the areas that will be covered when performing e-learning activities in a precisely determined order.

To successfully plan the LMS scenario, it is necessary to have a complete overview of the pedagogical decisions that must be made, and awareness of the participants is extremely important, as well as when planning regular learning activities.

An important difference when planning the application of LMS is that many lecturers are not accustomed to the high level of technical support and potential that e-learning systems typically bring. A possible disadvantage is falling under the influence of new ways of delivery and learning with the help of new technologies, so it is possible to make some technology-related decisions without thinking about the appropriate pedagogical needs.

However, changing the learning pattern can lead to the discovery of a whole new way of interacting with space. It is similar to patterns in developing a training plan.

After the development of the scenario plan, the operationalization or implementation of the LMS training follows. The initial contents of the adapted training plan are created and published, after which the participants are introduced to the system and how it will be applied.

Gradually, as the learning process progresses, the training plan is enriched, and after each activity, the platform is expanded with written materials, photos of activities, videos, interesting facts, articles, quizzes, presentations, hyperlinks, etc.

For LMS integration planning, ready-made design and course samples, i.e conceptual solutions related to the design of e-learning courses can prove to be highly beneficial.

So, it all depends on the complexity and possibilities offered by the LMS platform.

When talking about easy and full integration of your training plan with a LMS, there are quite a few things to look for from the app. To be flexible, multi-layered, offering the possibility to monitor and track progress and coming with a rich editable course base.

And even more importantly, developed to answer the training wants and needs of employees with different backgrounds and from different industries.

Our recommendation – EdApp as always! Sign up completely for free.