Not every employee looks forward to staff training and development. In organizations where the practice of organizing training has grown stale and repetitive, workers can come to dread these programs instead of looking forward to them as opportunities to improve their skills and abilities. But there are strategies to up your game when it comes to planning and implementing education and training sessions for your team.
Choose topics that are practical and informative while also engaging. Mix up training topics to include safety, team building, diversity and inclusion, stress management, and related ideas. The traditional speaker and audience model can become dry after a while, especially if the training is long or complex. Consider ways for training to happen other than classroom-style lectures. Explore the possibilities for hands-on training or virtual training through environmental health and safety software with interactive quizzes.
Strengthen your messaging about upcoming staff training and development opportunities, and get creative in your announcements. Use language that’s engaging and persuasive. Highlight the practical benefits of attendance and participation. Share your announcements via email but also use posters, your company intranet, and even pop-up announcements in your organization’s electronic time clock when employees log in to clock the start of their shift. Consider using incentives like giveaways, raffles, and company swag to encourage participation
Consider ways to incorporate community support and outreach into your event, like a food drive, blood drive, or another service project. Encouraging cohesiveness is an important element of staff training and development. Giving participants a shared goal that’s service-oriented can help with team-building.
If your organization has employees at multiple locations, mix it up and rotate events through multiple locations. Not only does this change up the routine but welcoming employees to other locations can improve camaraderie and strengthen interpersonal bonds. Also, take into account how people learn best when planning your training sessions. For example, visual learners may do well with video presentations; some employees would benefit from critical safety training in languages other than English. If people feel like the information provided through the training won’t really be accessible to them, they may be less likely to attend or participate.
Explore the ways in which training-related software solutions can provide more efficient delivery of your training needs. The flexibility and asynchronous nature of this training make it easier for shift workers to participate. It also provides more accurate and timely recordkeeping for employee training records, alleviating some of the hands-on work that would otherwise be required of human resources or safety department staff members.
Even with the best of intentions, your organization’s staff training and development programs may be dull and predictable. Consider using some of the attainable ideas here to rejuvenate your planning and implementation. With luck, you’ll see not only improved attendance but greater engagement, participation, and retention of the critical knowledge and skills necessary for employees to do their jobs well and safely.