Training and development for employees is a broad concept that goes beyond only imparting job skills. This domain showcases that employees are valued in a company and that they have abundant opportunities for growth and immense possibilities for advancement. Employees tend to bring their best selves at work when they feel that they are valued and have a chance to excel. One can enrol for an HR management course to learn the intricacies of training and development.
Previously, businesses used to overlook the value of employee training amidst the complexities of running a business. But the scenario has changed now and companies regularly conduct training and development programs for their employees even if it is a time-consuming aspect. Employee training is a lot more than delegating authority and management. Proper training in development programs provides the employees with an essence of belongingness and ownership in their role in the company.
Read on to learn the importance of staff training and development, its benefits, common methods and the involvement of HR teams in this process.
What is Employee Training and Development?
Employee training and development includes various methods and efforts of an organisation to enhance the performance of their employees. Training and implementing various educational workshops and programs to train and educate employees so that they work towards fulfilling the organisational objectives
In recent times, employee training and development is considered to be a very crucial aspect for every company. It is an organisational strategy that ultimately results in profit maximisation and increases organisational efficiency. Moreover, a certification course in HR management can help employees to learn new skills and they can emerge as an asset to a company.
A report from Gallup showed that 38% of employees in the US are experienced millennials and it will reach up to 75% in 2025. However, employee turnover among millennials is very high and only 50% of the workforce plan to stay in a company for more than a year.
More businesses are now aware of the importance of employee training and development. Sufficiently investing in employee training and development highly motivates employees as well as builds a skilled and trained staff for a company. Businesses employ numerous strategies to teach, train and develop their staff.
Importance of Employee Training and Development
Investing in effective training and development programs is vital for staff retention as employees would like to stay in a company where they see an opportunity for career advancement. Replacing talent is generally costlier than retaining the team that a company originally had. Further training them is even more expensive and hence, not always a great choice.
The terms 'employee training and development' and 'employee learning practices' are closely related and are often used interchangeably among various industries. Specific training and development programs are integral because they provide the employees with the opportunity to learn new skills and acquire specific knowledge that ultimately enhances the efficiency and performance of the staff. Strategies that focus on the growth of the employees' performance in the long run rather than focusing on immediate advancement are known as training and development.
Nowadays, organisations are allocating a larger budget for conducting training and development programmes for the employees as they understand the importance of the same. an organisation can develop and innovate for the future by considering new talents and innovative learning methods. The employees will learn dynamically with the help of a future-focused plan by combining modern technical platforms with creative and innovative learning techniques.
With the emergence of new companies, there is an increase in competition and organisations should work to their full potential. This is possible when the employees are motivated and eager to work. With the help of solid training and development programmes, companies can make their employees aware of new and innovative technologies through profound education and development.
Benefits of Employee Training and Development
One of the major benefits of employee training and development is that it produces a more engaged, effective, productive and competitive workforce. Organisations play a significant role in upskilling employees and making them learn new skills. Companies that prioritise their employees are actively engaged in various training and development programmes. These results in higher productivity and reduced absenteeism.
Some of the major benefits of employee training and development are enumerated as follows:
Positive employee retention
Retaining an effective workforce is a greater challenge for employers rather than recruiting them. Companies can retain the best employees by conducting regular career development programmes. When employees see a chance for personality development and upskilling themselves in a company, they will not think of leaving it.
Nowadays, training and development strategies have become a centralised aspect and are used as a competitive advantage over other organisations at the time of recruitment. Employees feel more valued which inculcates in them a sense of loyalty towards the company that ultimately results in employee retention. Training and development programs allow the employees to remain engaged within a company, resulting in a lower staff turnover rate.
Improves performance of employees
An employee who receives regular training is better able to increase his productivity at work. An employee who knows how to operate with new and innovative technologies is always a better choice in dealing with technical and critical situations.
Training and development programmes enable employees to inculcate knowledge about various safety measures and correct procedures to follow while performing fundamental responsibilities. In this way, employees gain a better understanding of the domain they work in and the duties associated with their position.
Employee empowerment
With proper training and development sessions employees become more confident and they feel empowered within the organisation. Such empowered employees proved to be effective in their work and also can better influence other people and gain their trust.
Additionally, the empowered employees feel a greater sense of belongingness, autonomy and value within the company. Effective and competent employees work to their full potential and use their best abilities to accomplish the task at hand and attain corporate goals.
Increased workplace engagement
Monotony in the workplace can lead to dissatisfaction and negative working habits among the employees. Interesting and regular developmental activities can reduce dullness and laziness in the workplace. Frequent employee training and development sessions will also help in creating a routine for re-evaluating the employees, competencies and procedures in the office.
Companies should focus on the skill development of the employees by conducting regular training sessions and developing the existing employees internally rather than recruiting new ones. In this way, managers will be able to assess the abilities and skills of their teammates which will allow them to strategically plan development programmes that may be targeted to bridge any skills gap.
Training future leaders
Training and developing individuals and their abilities for potential leadership roles will allow an organisation to use the abilities of the employees for business expansion and transformation. The HR team of a company may choose potential existing employees as future managers as they may acquire managerial and leadership skills through dynamic development programmes.
The companies that constantly contemplate future achievements and organisational goals are the ones that take into account the need and importance of training and development programmes. With proper training and development organisations need not always hire managers from outside but can also conduct internal recruitment for higher posts.
Improves company profile and reputation
Employee training and development is beneficial for both the employees and companies. A company that conducts regular training and development programmes will attract more new talents than those of its competitors. Individuals looking to advance their skills and knowledge will prefer to join an organisation that devotes efforts to training and developing their employees rather than those companies that only focus on profit maximisation.
Training employees considering their individual interests and backgrounds is a critical aspect that should be incorporated by the business owners. To better collaborate with each other and understand the work culture that boosts teamwork. Employee training and development results in an inclusive and cohesive team having the same ambition and interest in attaining the organisational goals.
Improves task management
With the help of effective training and development programmes, employees can master the skills of task management whether working individually or in teams. Employees become more aware of the organisational goals and inculcate a greater understanding of the processes and techniques that are to be used to achieve the predefined objectives.
Employee training and development help staff to become well-versed with new skills and technologies that are essential for the job. In this way, the employees become efficient and can seamlessly perform difficult tasks within less time. One can also study human resources online to become well-equipped with various task management skills.
Instills confidence in employees
One of the major advantages that employee training and development offers is instilling confidence in their staff. A confident staff is like an asset to an organisation that knows how and when to proceed with a specific task. Dynamic training and development programmes impart greater knowledge and abilities to the employees which helps them become confident in their job.
Moreover, not only the team members but also their managers become confident if they know the abilities of their members. This confidence ignites a sense of accountability and enthusiasm among employees. Hence, more confident employees yield higher productivity.
Common Methods for Employee Training and Development
In the era of technological advancements, new and innovative techniques are emerging very often. However, some of the most common and successful methods of employee training and development are provided as follows:
Orientations
Orientation training is an integral method for the new employees. Orientation generally includes providing training to new recruits about the structure of the company, its background, how it works, organisational objectives and the goals they wish to achieve in the near future. Through orientation training, new recruits can become familiar with the rules, regulations, policies and strategies of the company.
Lectures
One of the most common techniques of employee training and development is lectures. It is most effective when some piece of information is to be circulated within a large group of people. In such a scenario the lecturer explains every bit of the information to the intended employees within the organisation. It is a cost-effective method as it does not require any individual training.
Computer-based training (CBT)
Nowadays, computer-based training has gained immense importance as it has become a major source of communication between employees and the trainer. The training materials are circulated through computers and are designed in a way that provides both instructions and learning materials to the employees. The major advantage of this training technique is that it allows employees to learn at their own pace.
Role of HR Teams in Providing Training and Development to Employees
Now is the time of globalization and the market is rapidly changing and adapting to new ways of management. There has been a significant shift in the way companies engage their workforce and navigate through highly competitive market situations. Business entities are realising the importance of employee training and development as a part of human resource management and are increasingly emphasizing upskilling their staff.
Proper training and development make employees an asset to the organisation. HR teams are responsible for providing and designing valuable training programs for the employees not only at the time of recruitment but also for retaining the employees.
The role of HR teams in providing employee training and development are listed as follows:
Conducting Training Needs Assessment (TNA)
The first and foremost role of HR in employee training and development is to conduct an assessment to identify the training needs of their staff. This assessment encompasses various phases such as analysing their skills for a particular job position, testing their knowledge about a specific domain, evaluating the gap between knowledge and practical application and so on. Additionally, evaluating and reviewing employee performance regularly to locate the areas where employees are struggling and hence require training is also a key factor.
This assessment is performed by the HR professionals through regular internal service and scheduled meetings with the managers to determine the vulnerable areas so that proper training can be provided. This comes with the challenge of keeping up with the market trends and changes in the dynamic industry so that the management knows how to train employees about the new technologies and skills that are required for new initiatives and projects.
Designing and Developing Training Programs
After conducting a thorough training needs assessment, it is time to design training programs for the employees. HR professionals will draft the objectives of the training program along with the results they want to achieve with it. These are to be SMART objectives, i,e. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. SMART objectives are a way of ensuring that the training programs meet the needs of the learners as well as the company.
Based on the needs of the learners, the nature of the content and the learning objectives, HR professionals choose the best-suited approach and method for the training programs. Additionally, it is the responsibility of HR to develop effective training materials for the employees and to bring any expert to conduct the training sessions. HR appoints the most suitable trainer, both internal and external for conducting the training and development programs.
Implementation and Delivery of Training Programs
The successful implementation of the training programs is the responsibility of the HR professionals. Implementing training programs is not an easy task as it involves encouraging employees to take part in it, ensuring that all the participants have the necessary training materials, scheduling training sessions and selecting the appropriate trainer. Also, they supervise the employee participation in the training programs so that the trained employees can perform their tasks without any complications.
However, there can be different delivery methods such as on-the-job training, virtual training, classroom learning, coaching etc. the method of delivery depends upon the available resources and the content of the training. HR teams make the arrangements for training programs that abide by legal and regulatory standards and include training on topics of sexual harassment, discrimination at the workplace, safety standards etc.
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Training Programs
It is the duty of the HR team to ascertain the effectiveness of the training programs in terms of imparting the relevant knowledge and skills to the employees. It allows the HR department to track the progress of employee activities and also identify areas where further training is required. Also, the performance of the trainer is evaluated so as to ascertain the effectiveness of the training session.
Additionally, HR regulates feedback survey forms among the participants through which they understand the effectiveness of the training sessions. These feedback forms are to be filled with details related to the relevancy of the training program, effectiveness of training materials, performance of the trainer, degree of assistance provided by the organisation and so on.
However, whether the training program was successful or not can clearly be determined by the way employees work, post-training. The acquisition of new skills and specific knowledge would clearly be reflected in the work of the employees. Additionally, the HR department performs functions like assessing the return on investment of the training which determines whether conducting a particular training session was worth the cost or not. Also, HR determines whether the training session has any long-term effect on the employees or not.
Creating Career Path Development
The HR department offers various career development opportunities for the employees so that they can upskill themselves within the organisation. They can support training programs with additional assistance such as mentoring, coaching, job shadowing and providing various other growth possibilities. Because of such chances, employees feel motivated and they voluntarily engage in various training programs to indulge in a continuous learning process.
These opportunities help employees to enhance their skills which make some feel valued and they prioritise a path of career development. One can register for a certification course in HR management to learn how to build effective training programs for building a pool of motivated employees in an organisation. In order to prepare high-potential employees, HR teams also provide specific training programs to some employees so that they can emerge as future leaders within the company.
Summing Up
Today, every company values those professionals who are instilled with the relevant skills and knowledge. The intellectual capital of a business is very crucial and the best way to enhance the same is to conduct regular training and development sessions for their employees. Hence, it is even more important to align the training and development sessions with the organisational objectives.
If you want to master designing training programs, consider enrolling for the Professional Certificate in Human Resource Management and Analytics CEC, IIT Roorkee by Imarticus. This course will help you learn the core concepts of employee training and development and how they impact an organisation. Human capital is the most crucial asset that any organisation can possess. Thus, employee retention with the help of training and development programmes is an integral factor.
