Table of Contents:

• What is Employee Training and Development?
• Purpose Of Employee Training Programs
• How to Create An Employee Training and Development Plan In 4 Steps

It has been shown that businesses with a strong culture of learning and development are more productive, keep their employees longer, get their employees more involved, and have happier customers than their competitors. Across the board, but notably at the management level, an organisation may reap the benefits of an invested employee training and development strategy.

Managers and team leaders with excellent training and development programmes tend to have more streamlined processes for bringing newcomers up to speed, a more open culture where employees feel comfortable sharing their expertise, and a quicker response time when faced with the need to remedy any internal deficiencies.

What is Employee Training and Development?

HR departments may bundle together "employee training and development" as a single idea. When it comes down to it, "training" and "growth" are two distinct terms for the same thing. 

Employee development refers to the comprehensive approach used by an organisation to aid employees in enhancing their existing abilities, learning new ones, and advancing in their chosen fields.

Training is a process by which employees acquire the technical and soft skills necessary to do their jobs more effectively, efficiently, and safely. Taking a training course helps an employee achieve their professional goals as outlined in their growth plan. 

Before we get started, let's review the purpose of employee training programmes and the need for effective planning.

Purpose Of Employee Training Programs

Investing in the education and growth of employees is important to the success of a business as a whole because it improves their skills, motivation, and output. Employees will be more invested in the growth of the company and its success if they are given training that helps them consistently enhance their skills and knowledge.

A commitment to continuous training and development can lead to a number of good things, all of which contribute to the bigger goal of educating employees:

1. Increase In Productivity & Performance

Through on-going training and development, employees can acquire the expertise they need to accomplish their jobs well. So that they don't get lost over time, knowledge and skills can be strengthened through ongoing training and growth. Also, they will have a better idea of what their role is and what their responsibilities are. Having this broad range and depth of expertise in their field boosts employees' self-assurance, which in turn boosts their performance. When employees keep up with the constantly changing standards of their field and the latest technological advances, they can help their company stay ahead of the competition.

2. Finding And Securing Potential Gains

Every employee has strengths that they bring to the table as well as areas where they can improve. The HR team's job is to assist the business in determining where each employee has room for growth and progress, then designing and implementing training and development programmes to address those areas of weakness. As a result, workers will feel more confident in their abilities and be more motivated to do a good job.

3. Making Sure Everyone In The Team Is On The Same Page

When everyone in an organisation receives the same training, everyone is operating from the same set of facts. As a result, the workforce becomes more unified. The HR department's job is to make sure that all employees understand the company's rules and procedures in the same way.

How To Create An Employee Training And Development Plan In 4 Steps?

Step 1: Goal Assessment

Plans for training and development work best when they are made after careful consideration of the following:

The Goals of The Organisation: When making a plan for training and development, it's natural to want to focus on learning resources, training modules, and schedules. Don't give in to that impulse; instead, ask yourself the following questions:

• What are the larger goals that you and the company's management have set for the company?
• How can you get from where you are now to where you want to be?
• What kinds of departmental and personal growth will get you closer to your objectives?
• Which ones need to be addressed immediately, and which ones will have an effect in the long term?

The Needs of Teams and Individual Employees: All employees should be required to complete training on company policies and safety practises. While certain departments may need all employees to have the same general knowledge of the sector, others may only need employees with certain specialised skills. You need to look at the main roles each division plays, as well as their goals, how they fit into the overall company goals, and the internal and external challenges they face. Individual employees can be taken into account by having them fill out self-evaluations and getting feedback and suggestions from their supervisors to find out what core competencies they need to work on and how those improvements will help the company reach important goals.

Gap Analysis

The next step is making a gap analysis now that you know what the organisation's objectives are and what your teams and individual members require.

The term "gap analysis" refers to a simple report that details the current state of an organisation's personnel in comparison to where they should be based on the organisation's stated goals, the personnel's individual needs, and the requirements of the team as a whole.

The knowledge and data you need to conduct a gap analysis are probably already at hand. Job descriptions, performance reviews, and even accident and safety reports may already exist in the HR department's official records. Employee assessment and 360-degree reviews are two further examples of possible formal techniques. 

Communication is the key.

Employee communication and listening are critical to the success of any employee development programme. You must learn about their specific career goals at your company. For instance, an employee who excels at their job and gets along well with coworkers may seem like an obvious choice for promotion to management. However, their eagerness to become a manager can be easily overlooked. Forcing someone into a new job, no matter how well prepared you are, can result in failure on both sides.

Additionally, by conducting interviews with workers, you may find out how and when they like to learn, what they think of the results of your gap analysis, and much more.

Step 2: Road Mapping

Now that the groundwork has been laid, it is time to address any weaknesses in employee abilities. It is important to have a structured training programme that formally allocates employees to training. These should be rounded out with training in business fundamentals and interpersonal skills, in addition to the more obvious job-related competencies.

Don't compromise on the time and effort needed; this may be a more complicated process than you anticipate. The development of training materials and programmes is a group effort that draws on the knowledge of trainers and experts in the field, with oversight from upper management.

Video courses that are only a few minutes long can be found online that cover a wide range of topics. Both pre-made videos on standard subjects (including compliance, safety, and communication skills) and customised videos can be used. On the other hand, highly technical subjects, like cybersecurity, benefit from blended learning, which combines classroom instruction with digital and online resources. The incorporation of digital courses into a blended learning strategy can relieve some of the burden on trainers, allowing them to devote class time to more fruitful pursuits like student-led discussions, hands-on exercises, and teacher-led Q&A sessions.

Moreover, there is the issue of instructional tools. An LMS (Learning Management System), project management tools, and content production software may all help your training and development programme go smoothly; and, of course, you'll need outstanding trainers and instructional designers. As daunting as this may all seem, know that you are not alone. 

Let us take some of the pressure off by offering assistance and having a 30-minute conversation about your company's training programme.

Click here to schedule your free consultation with us.

Step 3: Delivery

The next step is for you to conduct the training with your staff. The training programme will only work if you can make sure that the people who take part in it get the information they need to improve their core skills and meet the strategic business goals set for the programme. Your team members are more likely to recall and implement what they learn if the training sessions are interesting, amusing, and captivating. One of your primary objectives should be to ensure that the most relevant training with engaging content is delivered. 

Step 4: Evaluation

At the end of employee training and development, an evaluation of how well the training worked is done, and a new evaluation of the company's and your team's training and development needs begins. Find out how much of the training your team took in and used, as well as where their core competencies and business objectives are weak and where they can improve. The best employee training and development programmes are those that foster a culture of lifelong learning and development.