It is always in a company’s best interest for its staff to grow and develop professionally. However, we often encounter tasks that require a higher level of proficiency than our staff can meet. In that case, it’s important to increase their level of expertise at a more rapid pace – in other words, to develop a training program.
Of course, this is not the only reason why you might have to organize corporate training. For example, new workplace regulations might demand that your staff must participate in an orientation session.
Whatever the case, when you need to develop a new corporate training strategy, here are a few important considerations to make.
1. Is training the best course of action?
Training is a viable consideration if your team lacks proficiency to complete a certain task or tasks. However, if the project is a one-time occurrence, you may not want to spend time and resources on training that might not come in handy in the foreseeable future. It may be better to outsource these projects, because training the entire staff exceeds the cost of outsourcing. However, if the project will likely occur again, then training is a good option.
2. How should you deliver training?
The next decision to make is how you will deliver the training program to employees. Consider which learning management system (LMS) you should use. A good LMS will allow you to customize and create the training program for your staff.
Your LMS should be a tool that your employees know how to use without any additional training. Create the training program or online course, and explain to your team how to use the tool and what you expect them to accomplish at the end of the course.
3. Is there an older version of the program?
Check to see if an existing version of the training program will fully meet your needs. Even if the older version is not perfect, there are certainly parts of it that you can put to good use. It will be far more efficient for you to improve the existing version or to add new information than to develop a completely new program.
Learn how the older program was constructed, what its goals were and if those goals were achieved. Even if the program was flawed, there is certainly valuable data you can salvage. After all, you can learn from other people’s mistakes.
4. Who is your audience?
Find out where your learners live, how well they can use the requisite software tools and if they have extra time after work. Once you have this data, you will know what kind of online course to create – or whether you should use on an online course at all. If all of your employees are able to attend the program after work, then you can use coaching sessions and track their progress directly.
5. How long should this training last?
Depending on your deadlines, determine the length of the training sessions and the information density of those sessions. Also, bear in mind that the entire program will need to be repeated at least once.
Repetition is a crucial part of learning, and it’s important for employees to cement their new skills in their minds. In other words, if you are running on a tight schedule, organizing a training program might not be the best course of action yet.
The bottom line for creating a new training strategy: Determine if training will be a good long-term investment.
Kamy Anderson is an edtech enthusiast with a passion for writing on emerging technologies in the areas of corporate training and education. He has over seven years of experience working with ProProfs’ learning management system and other e-learning authoring tools.
