Employee training and development programs can be very beneficial to your organization but only when they’re properly implemented and they take into consideration that training isn’t a one size fits all practice. If you’re looking to begin the training and development process at your organization, keep these characteristics that help create a successful training program in mind.
Employee training and development programs are essential to the success of your organization
Without proper employee training and development programs in place, your staff will not be able to keep up with changing market demands.
Effective Management
Employee training and development programs depend on effective program management to be successful so it’s essential that before you implement any training program at your organization you ensure that those programs have an ideal program manager. This means appointing someone to be in charge of the training program that is open-minded, motivated, and, most importantly, invested in developing employee skills and helping employees reach their full potential.
Goals and Metrics
When it comes to all types of job training, being able to quantify improvement can be difficult. Before you implement any new training programs at your organization, it’s essential to determine what goals and metrics you will use to determine the success of the program. When deciding on which metrics to use to judge this, make sure you use metrics that give the whole picture including quantity, quality, time, cost, and effectiveness.
Marketing and Communication
A common mistake many companies make before they launch their employee training and development programs is not creating a comprehensive marketing strategy that outlines initial activities and ongoing efforts. Without a marketing plan in place, you will not be able to include your program goals and success factors in your decision-making and your training and development process will not be successful.
Reinforcement
While employee training and development programs are essential to the continued success of your organization, without post-training reinforcement, your employees are likely not applying their new knowledge to their daily workload. For you to guarantee that all types of job training your company offers are successful, it’s essential to give employees a reason to use their new found knowledge soon after training has completed before they forget what they’ve learned.
Now that you have a better understanding of how you can ensure that any employee training and development programs you implement are successful, let’s take a look at a few top examples of employee training and development programs.
Top Examples of Employee Training and Development Programs
Seattle Genetics
This biotechnology company based in Washington offers their employees tuition reimbursement, onsite training courses, and access to job-related conferences and seminars. When asked about the programs they offer, staffing associate Taylor Cline stated, “Developing our employees’ careers is an investment for both our employees and the future of Seattle Genetics.”
SAS
This leader in business analytics software and services offers their employees emerging leadership programs, career mentoring, and even a career resource center. When asked about why they offer these types of programs to their employees, senior communications specialist Shannon Heath stated, “Knowledge workers never want to be stagnant so SAS provides opportunities for growth to keep our employees challenged, motivated and engaged.”
Amazon
The e-commerce giant not only has their employees attend a month-long training and leadership program before they’re hired but also prepays 95% of tuition and allows employees to train for new positions from home with their virtual contact center. In a statement about why Amazon offered these programs to employees, corporate communications manager Teal Pennebaker stated, “We want our employees to be owners from day one so we train them to take ownership over products and services that impact millions of customers. This helps them pioneer a career at Amazon.”
AT&T
The company that brought millions around the world high-speed internet, entertainment, and voice services offers their employees a one of a kind AT&T University program that not only focuses on leadership and management development but even goes as far as to create their own degree and help participants accelerate their learning with their introduction of micro-degrees. When asked about why AT&T offers these programs, corporate communications manager Marty Richter stated, “We can’t depend on just hiring and the traditional educational system as sources for retooling or finding new talent. We need employees who are ready to work in a competitive and more digital world. We’re focused on aligning company leaders to strategic business innovation and results, skilling and reskilling our 280,000 employees and inspiring a culture of continuous learning.”
While employee training and development programs are essential to the success of your business, it’s a good idea to implement a training program for employees to sample first so you can accurately determine how well your program will perform or if you need to involve your employees in the program development process more.
