The multifaceted world of training sessions
The training program is a basic concept when it comes to human development. It brings employees to a position where they can do their job correctly, in an effective and efficient way. The purpose of a training is to increase knowledge and skills. It is essential in changing the work environment and developing competencies.
The types of training depend on the profile of the company. Concerning the learning topic, companies are divided into two categories: those that already have an internal trainer, because they need constant work in this area, and those that don’t need a full-time trainer, since the learning dynamic is not high. One way or another, companies should realize the importance of the learning and development program and offer the right importance, budget, time.
As an example, Cheesecake Factory, a family restaurant, makes training a priority, spending about $2000/hour on employee development training. They measure the training effectiveness by looking at turnover, 15 % below the industry average. Attendees spend 2 weeks in training in order to obtain certification. After a month, they receive follow-up classes and when the menu changes, they receive refreshments.
The formation activity is split into two main categories: preservice, which are mainly academic, formal, people attending regular classes with a formal instructor. Students need to complete a curriculum and receive a formal degree or diploma. After that, they can apply for a professional job in the preferred area of expertise. Those that require such training/formation, are the agricultural, technical, IT ones and even the financial or law specializations. The next important category is inservice, the actual training session, as everyone knows it. It is the process of staff development with the purpose of improving their performance at work. This kind of formation is problem-oriented, attendee-oriented, having a series of activities and developing a sense of purpose, increasing capacity to gain knowledge and master the session’s techniques.
There are many ways of structuring and tailoring an educational plan, but up next we will offer details on the categories of the inservice programs, which are: induction, orientation, on-the-job technical & quality skills, soft skills, professional and legal skills, team and managerial safety, refreshment, remedy and internship training sessions.
- Induction training is dedicated to new employees in order to showcase the company, its hierarchy and organization, its procedures, rules, regulations and allow them to get familiar with his/her job. This type of training is offered generally by the HR department; it is informative ad it takes places immediately after recruitment.
- Orientation training has the aim of developing a positive attitude; it contains basic information related to the employee’s job and it takes place after the induction training. It is performed by the company trainer or anyone who has such responsibilities. It serves the same purpose as the induction training, but it is more specific and detailed. It is tailored for companies which have numerous projects, like help desks for different clients.
- On-the-job training is the method of training which takes place at one’s job site, during working hours. The skills it rewards can be gained while working, thus the employees get a hands-on approach to dealing with the tasks and challenges that occur during a normal day of work. This kind of training represents a time advantage for both the company and employee.
- Technical training presents the technological aspect of the job. It teaches how to use the IT units (in retail) or the customer relationship management systems (in sales), the software with which they introduce clients’ data (in business consultancy), system to process orders (in restaurants) or any knowledge related to machine-use, technical software or how to attain a certain level of technical skills.
- Quality training helps the employee detect, prevent or eliminate sub-par items, recognizing the products that are not up to quality standards. ISO measures the quality based on metrics. It develops quality standards for every field and it offers companies certifications according to their environmental management quality. They have standards for quality management and environmental management. Training employees my give them a competitive advantage. The advantages of doing such a training is reducing costs in production and gaining knowledge on what is the optimal quality for a product.
- Skills training is setting the goals for proficient job performance. For instance, in a call center, a training session could be done on how to answer the phone, or in sales, a skills training could be done on assessing customer needs.
- Soft skills training is the kind of training that aims at improving personality traits, social and communication skills, personal habits. Examples of soft skills training in call centers could be on providing a friendly approach on the phone, how to handle difficult customers or other soft skills training such as personal development, motivation of the employee, stress management, etc.
- Professional and legal training is meant to keep a professional up-to-date on one’s professional field, generally in fields that are in a constant change, which require ongoing training, like the legal or medical ones. New tax codes, laws, new surgery procedures, new researches in medicine which implement a new treatment etc, require professionals to be at the top of their game and this is where training sessions come into place.
- Team training is perceived as a team-building exercise and facilitates relationship-building. This type of training has many advantages like improving communication, problem-solving, developing teamwork skills, motivating employees, improving team productivity and many more.
- The managerial training is provided when someone is up for promotion and the manager needs to prepare that employee for his new position. This training consists of learning programs such as soft skills growth, delegation training, time management, motivational coaching, giving feedback or even leadership training.
- Safety training is provided by a specialized team of legal experts, providing instructions on how to use specific machines, in order to minimize accidents or work-related injuries, and will provide other legal information relating to their safety and security.
- Refreshment trainings has as its main purpose updating the employees with the latest news and methods regarding their job and thus ensuring they improve. This type of training can also be used when the employee is lacking knowledge in a certain topic or the information is not clear and well-structured. We need to mention that this type of training refers to the technical part of the job.
- As far as the attitude and behavior is concerned, especially for older employees, we have remedy training and it is usually conducted by a soft skills training expert or a psychologist.
- Finally, internship training is conducted when educational institutions enter a partnership with different companies, in a common industry, to provide practical knowledge to students.
In conclusion, the performance of a company depends a lot on the importance offered by top management to the learning and development objectives, but let’s not forget that the performance of a training program depends on its strategy and implementation. All training sessions serve first and foremost to enhance an organization; as such, they need to be cascaded correctly to departments and employees alike.
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Tags: Employee Performance, Organizational Performance, Training performance
