In today’s fast-paced business world, effective training is the key to success. 

Training not only helps you develop the skills you need in your business, it shows staff that you’re invested in their future and want them to succeed. And in turn, it keeps staff motivated towards the company’s success too.   

Here are 10 top tips to make your staff training as meaningful and effective as possible.  

1. Hire attitude 

Top training starts with recruitment. You can’t teach people to be positive or proactive, so hire people with the right attitude who are ready to learn.  

2. Avoid mass training   

It’s tempting to bulk your team training, but a one-size-fits all approach isn’t always very effective. No one wants to be told things they already know, so tailor your training to the individuals and bring the best out of everyone.  

3. Avoid mass feedback  

Again, sending a bulk evaluation form is tempting, but you need to make the evaluation work for each employee. Ask them what they found helpful, too easy or too challenging, and decide what actions they’ll take before their next session.  

4. Keep it hands-on  

Everyone learns in different ways, so use a range of learning approaches – like reading, lecturing, group work or official qualifications. Lots of people learn by doing, so practical tasks are a good idea. There are lots of formal qualifications available that are hands-on too, like apprenticeships.  

5. Be flexible 

If staff need to complete worksheets or collect evidence as part of their training, be as flexible as possible. Some people will want to work in their lunch break, on their commute or at home, so make sure you use a flexible system that can be accessed on any device.  

6. Reward progress 

Everyone likes being rewarded for a job well done, so acknowledge your staff’s achievements throughout training. When people know they’re appreciated, they’ll be motivated to keep developing. You can use a CPD software to keep track of your employee's progress so you know when to reward them.

7. Ask for help 

Although you’re training staff in-house, you don’t have to go it alone! You can bring experts into your business for training days or enroll staff on external courses. Apprenticeships are a great option for training staff as they combine the best of both worlds – expert support and in-house mentorship. 

8. Know your people 

Get to know your employee’s training needs, and let them get to know you, too. If staff know what your company goals are, and how they can help fulfil them, they’ll have more buy-in when it comes to training.  

9. Create a culture of lifelong learning  

Don’t leave training up to your learning and development team – encourage staff to take an active role in planning training. Giving staff the opportunity to host creative workshops, hackathons or group activities will help create a culture of lifelong learning – which is vital for business success. You can use a scorecard software so staff can evaluate their learning and see their progression throughout the training.

10. Measure results  

Developing skills in your business is always an investment – but make sure you know what return you’re getting by measuring results. Training generates lots of benefits, so you can measure growth, productivity or cost savings. 

 

At OneFile, we’re passionate about training. That's why we’ve built an all-in-one learning software to help businesses get the most of their training and their staff. With OneFile, staff can learn in way that suits them – anytime, anywhere, on any device. And everything is recorded online, so it’s easy to set individual activities, send feedback, track progress and measure results.  

To find out how you can use OneFile to deliver staff training, download our free guide.