How to Train Your Employees For Highly Effective Recognition

“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so that they don’t want to.” – Richard Branson

Training is essential for the success of every business. It equips employees with the necessary skills to ensure that your company runs smoothly and everyone knows what part they play and how to do it well.

While training is necessary for new hires so they can learn the ropes as they become part of the team, it’s also beneficial for other employees who’ve been with your company for a while. There are always new skills to be learned and you can use these 5 ways to effectively train both new and old employees.

Have a structured training program
Training an employee involves a lot of work and requires great commitment. One way of making it go easier is by having a structured training program that outlines everything your employees need to learn and how you’ll teach them.

Having it as detailed as possible will minimize the risk of under-training your employees or leaving out anything important. It also ensures consistency as everyone will learn the same skills, thus preventing misunderstandings and mishaps that may lead to conflict in the workplace.

Set training goals
Setting goals is a good way to achieve something you want and approaching employee training in the same way can also help ensure its effectiveness. You can set goals that align with your training program to help you see if it’s working as effectively as intended.

You can also offer an incentive to your employees to encourage diligence during training and reward them for meeting and achieving their goals. Employee reward programs - like those facilitated for free by Gifted.co - are a good way to do this, providing simplicity for you and the well-earned gift of choice for your employees.

Offer variations of the training program
While having a fixed training program is good to ensure efficiency, having a little variety in the execution may offer some advantages. This means presenting the same information in different ways, for example as video presentations instead of just written content.

That way, your training program can cater to different trainee preferences. They’ll find it easier to understand the information and retain it if it’s provided in a way they prefer and enjoy studying.

Use other employees as trainers
The owner of a company is one of the people who know the business better than anyone else. However, employees who’ve been with the company a long time may know the most intricate details that even the company owners don’t.

These employees would be the best people to train newer ones because they have first-hand skills and knowledge in the day-to-day running of the business. It’s best to select highly-skilled, competent employees for this task as they are more likely to work hard and sincerely help during training.  

Encourage cross-training
Although most businesses have different departments with people trained specifically for their primary role in the company, cross-training employees can help a business run smoother. This involves training employees to give them skills that are a little more diverse than what they were initially trained to do.

Not only does this ensure all your employees have the skills to help each other with their respective tasks, but it also gives them new skills that they may be able to apply to their primary posts.  

“Job training empowers people to realize their dreams and improve their lives.” – Sylvia Matthews Burwell

‍