Success in a workplace is all about learning and adapting. In most cases, people work individually to develop better skills. But now, prominent global employers have begun to acknowledge and address this need for employees through workplace training.
The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.
Henry Ford
Employers are creating multi-faceted development programs that facilitate employee career growth and contribute to long-term business success.
Why is Workplace Training Important?
To create job satisfaction, your workplace needs to do more than offer a good work experience. Workplace training helps people grow and develop new opportunities for themselves at work.
And a talented and intellectually stimulated workforce drives business success.
Here are some reasons why workplace training is essential for everyone:
- Well-trained employees can perform their jobs more effectively and efficiently.
- Workplace training helps employees see the business objectives more clearly and better motivate them to achieve business goals.
- Proper training eliminates the need to ‘learn on the job’, reducing errors, delays, and wastage.
- Training and promoting existing employees to fill gaps in senior positions is always better for the business than hiring new leaders.
We have created a list of training programs for employee development below. You may choose the best employee training based on your business needs.
What are the Different Types of Training Programs & Development Essential for Employees?
1. Orientation
Orientation training programs are conducted by the human resources team for newly hired people in their company. It helps new employees understand the business mission, vision, culture, and organizational structure. The orientation training program serves as an ice breaker for new employees and allows them to blend in with the new workplace.
2. Onboarding
Onboarding describes a series of training sessions designed to enable you to perform your role without difficulties. Orientation is the first step in the onboarding process. It helps them better understand the roles, responsibilities, and goals of the team they will join. Some of the topics typically addressed in the onboarding program are:
- Needs of the new employees
- Employee engagement
- Technical aspects of work
- Access to information and skills
- Departmental goals
3. Developing Technical Skills
If the team is working on a technical facet of the business, the employees should be trained on the software and tools they need to use. New employees must be prepared before they go on the floor, and existing employees should be offered training programs to improve their skills and update their knowledge. Areas like content writing, social media management, data analysis, coding, and programming need extensive technical training at the workplace.
4. Soft Skills Development
Professional behaviour and good communication are essential responsibilities of an employee. In the past, soft skills were taken for granted. However, now you can work with your team to help them improve their abilities to communicate effectively and work in cooperation with customers. Soft skills development training includes:
- Communication
- Conflict Resolution
- Teamwork
- Leadership
- Problem-solving
- Work ethics
- Presentation skills
5. Products & Services Training
Products and services training are essential for sales and service industry employees. It is a part of the onboarding training, but it is also done for existing employees when new products or services are introduced. Product and services training comprises:
- Available products/services
- Instructions for use
- Benefits
- Care and maintenance of the product
- Features
- Price
- Warranty
6. Quality Training
An essential workplace training for production and manufacturing-focused companies. The exercise aims to help employees understand the protocols and quality standards they should follow. It includes training about quality control processes, product observation techniques, quality compliance, evaluation, and production system improvement.
7. Safety Training
Employees who work in construction companies with toxic chemicals or other hazardous materials/machinery must attend extensive safety training programs. Besides, all workplaces should have regular fire drills, evacuation plans, and sexual harassment training to ensure the safety of all their employees.
8. Team Training
Bonding amongst team members is essential to a collaborative and hospitable workplace. Team training encourages team members to build friendships and work together cohesively. Usually, during mergers, acquisitions, or restructuring in a company, team training can help newly merged teams form better relationships to work in tandem.
9. Upskilling and Reskilling
Upskilling and reskilling are essential components of employee development. It refers to training that improves an employee’s skills and enables them to build relevant competencies for moving up the corporate ladder. Reskilling is an employee development program for someone who has just joined a new team or if there has been a disruptive change in the technology used for the job.
10. Sales Training
As the name suggests, sales training helps the marketing and sales personnel improve their sales approach and teaches new sales techniques, software tools, and products. It aims to help improve conversion rates and address clients’ unmet needs.
Conclusion: Workplace Training for Your Team
Now that you have gone through the different types of employee training, you can decide the one that suits your team the best.
Employees aspire to grow at every stage and need new opportunities to stay motivated. Workplace training not only equips employees to make the most of available options but also makes them capable of creating new growth paths for themselves.
Employees appreciate the chance to gain new skills and enrich their work profile, while the business benefits from increased productivity and motivation.
About the Author: Suman Agarwal
Suman is an award-winning image management professional. She has helped students, home-makers, women on sabbatical as well as people seeking second career alternatives to explore Image Management and Soft Skill Training as a vibrant professional choice. She frequently writes blog posts about the urgent need of image consulting professionals and soft skill trainers in the 21st century and loves guiding people in exploring lucrative career options.
Write to her to seek advanced career guidance.
