There are various ways in which training can be both encouraged and offered in the workplace. While informal training is becoming increasingly popular and does boast various benefits, formalized training remains essential and can increase the training performance of your organization.
Use Formalized Training in Your Operational Strategy
Education does not come to a halt when you earn a degree or find a job. In fact, further education and development opportunities have become a top priority for current-day employees. A recent survey has found that 59% of millennials regard training possibilities as one of the most important factors when looking for employment.
Formalized Training has Many Benefits
There are many reasons why good formalized training program should form part of your organization’s overall employee training strategy. Some of the chief benefits include being able to train many employees at once, the availability of accurate and current content, and the opportunity to utilize various training methods that are conducive of favorable adult learning.
Formalized training also serves as an investment into your organization’s future as it boosts the effectiveness of your workforce. A formalized strategy can be implemented with great success when it comes to compliance training that requires all employees to have successfully completed pre-determined specified training.
Strike a Training Balance
In order for your employee training strategy to be as beneficial as possible to both the organization and its employees, it has to be well-balanced. The easiest way to create and maintain this balance is by incorporating informal training strategies into your formalized strategy. This can be done in various ways such as encouraging employees to pursue further education opportunities in their personal capacity.
These training opportunities can include anything from short skill development programs to career-relevant graduate degrees. Despite having a reputation for being an elitist institution, MBA programs, in particular, have become increasingly accessible in recent years. Pursuing such an online qualification, for example, can be invaluable to an employee who is driven to reach the top of the corporate ladder.
Keep Employees Excited About Training
Although the benefits of formalized training can’t be disputed in any way, it does have some drawbacks to be aware of too. Employees don’t always view compulsory training in a positive light, mainly due to unpleasant prior experiences and a perception that the subject matter is not relevant.
In order to ensure that the training is effective, it is therefore important to keep employees engaged. This can be accomplished in a number of ways which include making training a part of your company’s culture, ensuring your training is personalized, and incorporating training into career advancement and bonus opportunities. Excitement can be amplified even more by utilizing innovative training aids such as gamification, simulations, and augmented reality.
Formalized Training Supports Your Operational Strategy
Offering effective training opportunities to employees and encouraging them to also seek out opportunities on their own can be extremely beneficial. Even if employees are not eager to participate in formalized training at first, they can soon become fully engaged through a bit of effort.