Developing an Employee Training Programme to Empower and Grow

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

– Benjamin Franklin

 In counting our blessings granted by  the Covid-19 outbreak, I wish to bring out the most essential one (according to me), – You and I became ‘WE’! Humanity came together to fight the impact of the pandemic and thrived on the principle of ‘safe living’, with precedence on the health and well-being of people. Now, it is time we endeavoured to achieve sustainable development for a ‘safe future’ and supporting each other to realize this goal, thus becomes imperative; this support should be seen across all verticals and spheres of life, including employee management strategies.

Empowering employees through  training programs:

Training is crucial for organizational development and success. It is fruitful to both employers and employees of an organization. For instance, an entrepreneur, when exposes employees to various crisis management programs, development programs and training procedures, he/she  aids employees to become more efficient, upskilled and productive, thereby helping them retain their relevance and demand  in the constantly changing times.

The benefits of training programs are innumerable. However, there are some which form the crux; Undoubtedly,  organizations should have a  structured plan for responding to crisis and enabling business continuity even in the most difficult times. This is possible only when employees have been trained to handle crisis and can manoeuvre their way around it. Any organisation is only as good as its employees, and having trained and competent employees is half the battle won! Also, all employees could benefit from some basic training in one way or the other.

The benefits of training programs can be summed up as follows:

Boosts employee morale – Training and up-skilling/ re-skilling programs boosts employee self-esteem and  help them  to experience job security and job satisfaction. High morale of employees is directly proportional to employee productivity and job-satisfaction. Also, a well trained employee will be well acquainted with the job and will need less of supervision while simultaneously showing quantity and quality performance. Thus, there will be less wastage of time and efforts.

Reduces the changes of erring/accidents – Usually employee well-being forms the core of the CSR policy of any organization. Therefore, protecting employees though appropriate training is mandatory. Errors are likely to occur if the employees lack knowledge and skills required for doing a particular job. The more trained an employee is, the less are the chances of committing accidents while on the job and the more proficient the employee becomes.

Higher chances of promotion and self-growth– Employees acquire skills and efficiency during training. They become more eligible for promotion. They become an asset for the organization. Also, if trained well, employees stand to  benefit from it, not only professionally but personally as well and show increased productivity.

Steps to consider while  imparting career progression supportive training:

To impart training is not an easy task. It requires adequate planning and recording to effectively produce the desired results. While developing a training programme, we should closely consider the changing demands of time. What was relevant and yesterday may not be so today! For example, today, with the onset of the new normal,  identifying the knowledge and skill sets needed for the new job requirements is imperative. Organisations must evaluate existing knowledge and skills and identify the “gaps” and prepare an effective training plan in aiming to bridge these gaps. Again, the training process does not stop at the closure of the training program. Assessing the knowledge and skills attained through the training program is essentially the deciding factor of assigning the type of new responsibilities and providing effective performance support thereafter.

Ways of imparting training:

When developing a training programme, it is of utmost importance that we take into account the method suitable for training various kinds of employees/candidates. For instance, training can be  imparted while on the job or before fresh recruits are yet to take over their responsibilities.  The training can be  Instructor-led, simulation based, hands-on type involving coaching and mentoring for candidates/employees who are already on the job. These techniques are simple and cost-effective and produce the desired resultant. Using these methods, employees are trained in actual working scenario as the motto of such training is “learning by doing.”

Again, the advent of the digital era has proved to be a boon for  employees/ candidates opting for ‘off the job’ methods of training. E-learning, online group discussions and lectures, followed by online assessments have made training available to everyone who needs it, anywhere. This type of training is provided away from the actual working condition and is generally used in case of new employees. Workshops, seminars, conferences, are some tools used to impart online training and  thus this method is costly. It is advisable to use this method of imparting training  only if large number of employees have to be trained within a short time period.