For many technical organizations, training is simply a means of satisfying regulatory compliance standards. While maintaining OSHA and NERC certification is certainly important, there are many compelling reasons why companies should prioritize employee development, too.
Ongoing skills training provides employees with the opportunity for career advancement, which is essential in attracting and retaining talent. Creating a training program that aligns with company goals will also help facilitate the reskilling and upskilling initiatives necessary to stay ahead of industry changes and disruptions.
Employee development is an investment, and—like all investments—it can seem daunting at first. Fortunately, there are a few simple principles that can help streamline the process. These six tips will focus your efforts and help ensure the best possible return on investment from your continuous technical training program.
1. Take Full Advantage of Your Existing Resources
Investing in employee development doesn’t always require an expensive bespoke training program. Oftentimes, organizations with their own L&D departments already have dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of learning content that is never used. If your organization has its own L&D department, take a full inventory of all available learning content. This will help identify the training resources you already have and help you map out any content gaps that will need to be addressed. If your eLearning content lacks the metadata necessary to organize it properly, there are AI programs that can replace missing or corrupted data to optimize and map your content for easy access.
Your organization may not have its own L&D department, in which case, outsourcing is a viable option. A talent transformation company can provide you with access to hundreds of off-the-shelf training courses for a nominal investment. If your organization already receives compliance safety training courses from an external vendor, you may already have access to additional courses or learning plans that you’re not taking advantage of. Many training providers include hours of additional learning content in their compliance course packages.
2. Consider Your Training Delivery Methods
When creating a technical training program, it’s critical to consider how and where employees will be trained. Many unforeseen barriers can derail a training program. Talking with employees can provide valuable insights into overcoming these obstacles. A machine operator will have a very different perspective than an engineer or manager and can help identify potential obstacles that may not be obvious to individuals in other roles. Obtaining input from employees across the entire organization can help deliver content in a way that aligns with everyone’s needs.
During a recent consulting assignment, a GP technical trainer encountered a situation in which a machine operator, who we’ll call Frank, took three hours to complete 60 minutes of training modules. When asked why it took so long, Frank gave the trainer a list of obstacles he had to overcome before taking the course. First, Frank had to shut down the equipment at his workstation, which took several minutes. This was followed by a long walk to the other side of the site, which added several minutes more. The training content was hosted on a computer that was kept in a locked lab, resulting in even more wasted time requesting the key from the busy staff of a control room located on a separate floor of the building.
Despite how absurd it seems, this example is not uncommon and reveals why it is absolutely critical to identify who your audience is and how your training will be delivered to them. Imagine the same scenario with a different delivery method. What if the training was made available digitally via Frank’s phone? Or what if the computer manager had been on hand to unlock the computer room? Maybe a laptop computer could be delivered to his workstation for the day. Any one of these delivery methods would have made the learning more efficient, eliminating a lot of downtime.
3. Sequence Your Training to Ensure the Most Impact
Determining when an employee will learn something can be just as important as where and how the learning will take place. Just-in-time learning is a concept that involves providing employees with training at the moment they need it most. This can be challenging in industrial settings. In many instances, it’s more practical to assign technical training during the onboarding phase before an individual’s job duties have kicked in. Additionally, regulatory agencies often have tight deadlines for the timing of compliance training.
Even with these realities, however, it’s possible to incorporate just-in-time learning practices through refresher courses. Providing regular opportunities for review can be incredibly valuable, particularly when key concepts are shared weeks or even months before employees can apply them. It may seem hard to set aside valuable time to revisit training that’s already been completed, but think of the potential risks. A single mistake or accident could derail operations for hours and end up costing far more than a quarterly review session.
How your training is delivered plays another significant role. Shorter, bite-sized content (or microlearning) will be much easier for employees to revisit than a single three-hour learning module. Additionally, content that is always available can be referenced where and when it’s most convenient for workers, which won’t be possible in the locked computer room scenario discussed earlier.
4. If Something Isn’t Working, Change Your Training
A famous quote says, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always gotten.” That seems obvious, yet it’s remarkable how many organizations repeat the same training even when it’s obviously not working. This is where an ongoing training program can be a huge asset. Organizations with an agile learning culture have the structure and procedures in place to swap out unsuccessful training, while companies that take a repetitive approach to training do not.
Once again, communication is essential here. There are always reasons why your training is failing. The key to uncovering those causes is often as simple as asking the right people the right questions. Employees will tell you when something isn’t working if you provide them with the opportunity to do so. Building opportunities for managers to check in with their employees will not only make training more effective but can also help identify underlying issues that would otherwise remain undetected.
5. Use Training as a Preventative Tool, Not a Disciplinary Measure
It’s important to remember that training can’t solve every problem. Mistakes don’t happen in a vacuum—a worker must contend not only with their training but also with factors like team culture and the pressure to perform. When an incident occurs, management will often attempt to solve the issue by assigning additional training. Sometimes, employees genuinely do not know the correct action to take, and other times, employees simply ignore the proper operating procedures. Other issues can also be at play, such as poor communication or inadequate tools.
When procedures aren’t being followed, you have a human performance issue on your hands, not a training issue. Additional coursework will not solve this problem, which is why you need a strong corrective action program in place. If there is a failure in communication or equipment, the problem may stem from an issue with the process or procedure itself—which is not strictly a training shortfall—and is often an indicator that you should evaluate your technical documentation.
Assigning ad-hoc training as a reactionary or punitive measure sends the wrong message about the role that learning plays in the organization and can undercut the effectiveness of your entire program. To truly succeed, your continuous training program needs active buy-in from the workforce, which is unlikely to happen if they see it as a form of punishment.
6. Create a Measurement Plan to Gauge Your Training’s Effectiveness
Measurement is an essential component of any ongoing training program. While the particular metrics will vary from company to company, it’s important to develop a measurement plan that demonstrates the impact of your training efforts on your organization’s business objectives. Furthermore, simply measuring training hours is not an accurate gauge of training effectiveness.
Start by identifying your training priorities. Once a set of clear goals has been established, determining which metrics matter will be much easier. If you are trying to drive efficiency, you will want to keep an eye on productivity stats. If the organization prioritizes employee retention, the company’s turnover rates will be crucial. Ideally, you want to understand the leading indicators associated with your objectives, and then track and analyze those to provide a meaningful view of your training efforts.
Metrics don’t tell the whole story; be sure to prioritize employee feedback as well. Remember that a technical training program is an investment in your people. The quickest and best way to determine if that investment is paying off is by going to your employees directly. Self-assessments, work observations, and employee surveys can provide focus on what is and isn’t working, but be sure to include opportunities for personal one-on-one interactions as well. Allowing employees to discuss their personal development provides invaluable opportunities to monitor their progress, identify areas of interest, and set future career goals.
Investing in Your Employees is an Investment in Organizational Success
Developing employees and supporting the organization are not mutually exclusive concepts. When developing a continuous technical skills training program, the solution you create should prioritize the needs of both. Engaging in clear, open communication will allow individuals to align with the strategic priorities of the organization and help you chart a plan that provides the best possible ROI for everyone.
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