Imagine a workplace where everyone feels genuinely inspired and connected to their roles. This is the vision behind effective employee training strategies. But do you think ticking boxes through generic modules can achieve this? How do you make training sessions something your team actually looks forward to? How do you deliver the content so that they remember it for longer? In this blog, we will discuss the 5 best workplace training strategies for engaging employees, speaking from our years of experience in designing corporate training courses for various companies! So let’s dive straight in!
On-the-Job Training
On-the-job training (OJT) is one of the most powerful employee training methods, mainly used for new roles and reducing turnover. Unlike theoretical lessons, OJT allows employees to learn by doing right on the job. They step into new roles, learn from experienced colleagues, and navigate the challenges firsthand.
Integrating daily job tasks into the training process is a smart strategy. For instance, a customer service rep could train by handling actual customer queries. This ensures that training is directly relevant to their job, making it more effective and engaging. Employees need to actively apply their learnings in their daily tasks. Only this will help them think critically about their work and develop practical skills. While OJT is incredibly valuable, it should complement, not replace, other training methods.
Blended Learning
Blended learning combines traditional classroom teaching with online digital resources. This is a fantastic workplace training strategy for hybrid employees. It offers the best balance between face-to-face instruction and self-paced online activities. Both of these kinds of learning have their own advantages and combining them gives employees the best of both worlds.
While the self-paced courses are better to suit individual employee schedules, the instant feedback during offline classes offers a wholesome learning and workplace bonding experience. Your team can access online resources wherever and whenever they have some spare time. Blended learning is a fantastic way of making learning adaptable to fit schedules, especially in remote work settings.
However, building a blended learning employee training course might prove to be difficult if you are just starting in-house with no prior course-making experience. You might find it challenging to segregate topics to leave for self-paced learning and materials that need learner interactions. This is the reason why you will often hear the advice to get in touch with a top corporate training provider to make your training effective.
Individualized or Personalized Courses
Given that this is not always a cost-effective solution, if you are looking for corporate training courses for small teams, this could be extremely beneficial for your team. Each employee has different skills, experiences, and learning preferences. Tailoring training to these individual differences helps employees learn more effectively.
Individualized training plans are excellent for meeting each employee’s unique needs, strengths, and goals. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, custom courses target specific skills to make the training more relevant and impactful. Among all the corporate employee learning strategies popular today, this one offers the strongest alignment between personal goals and organizational needs.
Spaced Repetition
Instead of cramming all the info at once, this involves revising the material at intervals to remember it better. Spacing out learning sessions prevents cognitive overload. By reviewing information at spaced intervals, the brain reinforces connections, leading to better long-term retention. This employee training method uses less time for review while achieving better retention.
E-learning Industry has found that 90% of content learned in a single training session is forgotten by employees within the first month! Research has proved that humans tend to forget about 50% of all new information within the 1st hour and almost as high as 70% within the 1st day. In this context, we cannot emphasize enough the benefits of spaced repetition.
Simulation Training
Simulation training involves creating scenarios that closely mimic real job situations. This allows employees to practice their tasks in a controlled setting. Why is this beneficial:
- Employees develop crucial problem-solving and critical thinking skills under simulated pressure.
- Trainees can make and learn from their mistakes. All this would be without any real-world consequences but at the same time help them understand the impact of their decisions.
- Interactive simulations are known to improve focus and retention.
However, building effective simulations is not everyone’s cup of tea, and definitely not if you are inexperienced. While this is an extremely effective employee training strategy for your corporate training course, it is best to give the responsibility to an expert trainer to build and deliver it.
Conclusion
The best employee training strategies of 2024 that we explored so far, from OJT training to spaced repetition – offer unique benefits for different kinds of teams. You will have to perform a training needs analysis and team analysis to find out which one will be good for your team. Based on whether your team works remotely, offline, or hybrid, more than one of these combinations can also prove to be beneficial. But the true magic lies in how these methods are implemented.
If you are overwhelmed about how to approach your employee training, get in touch with our executives today. EducationNest is one of the leading corporate training providers in India with years of experience in building targeted corporate training courses led by expert instructors at affordable prices.
