When you develop your own in-house training program, there are many benefits to this. First of all, it can save you time in corresponding back and forth with an external supplier. Plus, it will be much cheaper to develop an employee training program yourself rather than pay the high rates that consultants usually charge.
Because you are developing the program yourself, this allows you to tailor the training completely to your organization. You already know what your organization values and culture are, and you can target the training towards specific skills gaps your company has. When you buy an off the shelf employee training program, this won’t come with any details targeted towards your organization.
An in-house training program, when done right, can help your company achieve its goals through boosted productivity, increased employee retention, and job satisfaction.
How to create an effective Employee Training Program In-House
Needs Assessment
Before you forge ahead and develop your employee training program, you must conduct a needs assessment. There is no point in spending time on producing training that your staff don’t need, which is why this is such a critical step.
During this process, you will identify skills gaps in your company and employees. Then, you can develop training specifically to fill these skill or knowledge gaps. This will result in more targeted training and better learning outcomes for staff.
Goal Setting
Now, you need to know precisely what you hope your staff get out of the training. Will they become more productive, establish better relationships, improve their communication skills? Figure out what you want to achieve and then define how you will know that the attendees have gained the intended skills.
For example, ‘better communication’ could be shown through more frequent contact with managers, more willingness to speak up in meetings, or improved public speaking skills. It will depend on what your specific communication goals are.
Involve your Staff
Without your team on board, there is not a lot of point in creating training. People must buy into the concept of the training, or it will be less effective. In other words, they need to see why the training is necessary, and it also helps if they have some input into the development of it.
You could send out a survey to staff asking them relevant questions, and you can base your training off the answers. Questions you could include are:
- What methods of learning work the best for you?
- What skills do you think this company needs to improve on?
- What would make you feel more confident in fulfilling your job requirements?
- How can the organization’s performance be improved?
Decide on the Style
There are two main styles that can be used for your employee training program. The first is a classroom-based style. This type of training is set up like a classroom with a facilitator at the front, usually with a whiteboard. This requires minimal setup and works best for larger teams and departments. Generally, these types of learning sessions are focused on learning specific technical skills, such as how to use a certain kind of software.
The second style that you could select is a workshop style. This option is less-facilitator led and is primarily led by the participants. This works for smaller teams, and it works by splitting the people into small discussion groups. Workshops are excellent for brainstorming, role-playing, and simulation scenarios. Generally, these are used to develop soft skills such as communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
Individual vs Team Training
Whether you choose to develop individual or team-based training will depend on the results of your needs analysis performed earlier. Individual learning programs are focused on helping the person build their own skills, such as self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and time management skills.
Team training prioritizes teams learning how to work better together. This may include the development of skills such as collaboration, communication, and teamwork.
Delivery Method
With the rapid evolution of technology, it has never been easier to develop an employee training program that is delivered online. This provides the option of self-paced learning modules that individuals can complete when they have the time. These don’t need to be completed by a number of people at once, but instead, staff can do them at their desks whenever they have a spare moment.
The other choice is the traditional method of having participants in a room together. This can be harder to organize in terms of logistics, such as room bookings and ensuring that everyone is free at the same time. However, this style is better for team learning and building relationships within your team or between teams as there is plenty of interaction between participants.
Both methods come with their own pros and cons, so the delivery method will be more based on the outcomes you are looking for.
Evaluation
A crucial component of any in-house employee training program is the evaluation. Get the attendees to evaluate the session afterwards so that you can find out more about how beneficial the training was. Ask for constructive feedback on the program so that you can keep evolving it and making it better over time. By keeping the areas where the training is strong and changing those that the participants don’t get much out of, you will eventually develop a robust training program that is hugely beneficial to your company and participants.
Save yourself precious time and money by creating an in-house training program. This allows you to individualize learning to suit your organization and help the company achieve its goals. Keep iterating the process to make the training better, and over time you will have a valuable training program for your staff.
