Employee Training
Employee Training
Top 10 tips to maximize your return on investment
Businesses need to invest in training in order for employees to develop skills that will allow them to maintain and attract new clients. However training can be expensive, so how can a company make sure it is getting the most out of its training dollars?
David Freeman is in charge of Training Development for the security company Commissionaires B.C., a company that has 1,500 employees in the province. He offers advice for employees on how to maximize their return on investment (ROI) in the area of employee training. “Adults retain and use new knowledge best when they can integrate it into what they already know,” says Freeman. “So it’s vital that training be connected to what employees are already doing, and that what they learn can be easily incorporated into ongoing duties.”
Before training begins, the employee should clearly understand his or her learning objectives–how his or her skills and knowledge will improve by the end of the course. Your trainer should be able to answer with satisfaction the following questions:
1 What level of increased ability will the employee gain?
2 How well must the employee demonstrate this ability?
3 Under what conditions must the employee demonstrate these skills?
There are three phases to learning: presentation, practice and feedback. A total of 66% of the training time should be focussed on practice and feedback. Make sure that the practice phase allows enough time for the employee to gain required skills and integrate new knowledge. In the feedback phase, the employee should be given written and verbal information regarding where he or she is in the learning process and what he or she needs to do to complete the training successfully.
The trainer’s approach, business philosophy and orientation should match that of your company’s. If not, the employees will be in conflict with the trainer, which will reduce the amount of learning, and possibly result in this conflict being brought into the workplace.
Freeman adds, “You should tell your employees that if they find the course is not providing what they need, or they are not progressing in the way they think they should, or whatever the concern, they must speak up early. If they wait until the course evaluation, they will miss the opportunity to improve their own situation.”
This article was originally published in Your Workplace magazine issue 12-1
