The employee development training process of any Human Resources department should be thorough. The lifeblood of a solid business is its investment in training and developing employees.
Create an Effective Employee Development Training Process
There are many valid reasons for a company to spend time and money on training and developing its employees.
Company Vision
Before putting a training process together, you must be clear on your company's vision. What is it that makes your company different? Are you the world premier provider of customer service? Are you the top computer repair business on the East coast? Perhaps you are the number one source in health insurance consultations. Whatever your mission and vision, translate that to your employees during the training process. A major part of setting up a good employee development training process is to involve the employee in the company's vision. Understanding the vision helps the employee embrace it and make it her own.
Examine the Needs
Keep files on each employee documenting weaknesses that should be addressed. Immediate supervisors and managers should stay on top of this information. This step is critical to the development process. A good training program not only orients new employees and familiarizes them with the business model; it gives them the tools they need to perform their jobs competently. It guides and educates them at every level on the career ladder. Satisfying the mentoring, feedback and coaching needs of each employee produces a sense of security, confidence and commitment.
Develop a Training Manual
Develop a detailed training manual for the entire company detailing the company's visions, goals and benefits. Design a department-specific training manual for each department to serve as a resource. Employees must have their own general company and department-specific training manuals located in their work areas for easy referencing.
Method of Delivery
The method of delivery will vary depending your company finances, employee needs and availability of resources. Choose the appropriate delivery method.
Weekly Meetings
At each level, employees should have weekly meetings their direct supervisor. Supervisors should keep progress reports on staff members. A weekly meeting will keep the employee in dire need of guidance from falling through the cracks. These meetings should focus on setting developmental goals and ensuring that employees meet these goals.
Online Courses
All levels can benefit from taking online developmental courses. It is a cost-effective way of implementing an employee development program. It requires minimal effort from the employee, and it can cover wide subject areas.
Employee Certification
Most industries have employee development and training associations that hold certification training yearly. This kind of training is best for salaried or management level employees. The company should plan on paying all associated expenses for trainees to obtain this type of certification.
Other Ideas for Implementing Training
- Role-playing for service employees can be a very effective method of training.
- Test employee development by conducting surprised test calls or surprise visits from a supervisor or manager. Follow up with the employee about his or her performance.
- Seminars are a good training method for upper level management because they can be expensive and go for several days. One-day seminars are good for hourly employees.
- Companies who have "at home" employees can use virtual meeting software like "gotomeeting," to offer full-scale presentations online.
Always Get Employee Feedback
The important part of this process is that the employee understands her value to the company. Employers who take the time to go through the training process and then get feedback from their employees make important steps toward employee retention. Always get your employees' written and oral feedback. If possible, implement suggestions and changes.
