Is your workplace making a valuable training investment?
Employee training and development is a smart investment, and for good reasons. It is essential to long-term success, retains top talent, boosts employee engagement, spurs innovation, lifts productivity, and it helps people keep pace with the skills needed to reach company goals.
New hires often receive the most learning opportunities. But it is essential to provide professional development opportunities to veteran employees, too.
How many of these areas does your organization focus on?
Orientation: This first opportunity to train new employees is a wonderful way to introduce new hires to their role and how they fit in to the company culture. Orientation should set the tone for the overall employee experience. The best organizations nurture a culture of continued growth from day one.
Onboarding: Onboarding is an extensive series of events that help new employees become productive team members. The onboarding timeline looks different for each employee and team, depending on experience, learning pace, and job skills. Make sure new employees have the tools and resources to succeed. Employee onboarding continues until workers settle into their role. Good onboarding helps employees to connect daily tasks with the company’s mission and vision.
Diversity training: Workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion training helps employees navigate different opinions, understand other perspectives, and minimize discrimination and prejudice. It focuses on getting the best out of everyone.
Technical skills development: Organizations must provide every employee with the technology and tools necessary to do their job well and ensure the technical skills development program evolves with business growth.
Compliance training: Compliance training programs are helpful for employees, and they also are required by law. This type of training covers the regulations applicable to the workplace and specific roles. Effective employee compliance training programs teach employees about their legal obligations and organizational rules.
Sales training: Sales training programs help employees navigate customer-facing communication, develop persuasion skills, and promote a positive brand reputation. Companies that sell a product or service must offer continuous training opportunities that connect the sales team to the business mission, customers, and product development.
Soft skills development: Employee training and development programs focused on soft skills play an essential role in individual and organizational growth. Collaboration and productivity soar when employees understand how to use these skills effectively.
Products and services training: Educating everyone — from individual contributors to team leaders — creates a universal understanding and connection to the company mission, brand unification, and improved customer service experience.
Quality training: Production companies use quality training programs to ensure all production facilities operate safely and follow standards set by the company, industry, or a third party. Quality assurance training improves production by educating employees on what is required to develop customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Safety training: Safety is a priority for most organizations, especially those industries such as manufacturing and healthcare. Workplace safety training programs protect people from dangerous materials, diseases, injuries, natural disasters, and violence. Companies with more workplace hazards have an increased need for safety training.
Team training: Team training and development programs improve cohesion and strengthen relationships. They are a terrific way to boost interpersonal communication and encourage team growth.
All employees, no matter their position, want to work for organizations that help them to improve their knowledge and skills. It also shows them that the company values them as individuals.
Bob Helbig is media partnerships director at Energage, a Philadelphia-based employee survey firm. Energage is The Washington Post’s survey partner for Top Workplaces.