In the 21st century, the world sets a fast pace that causes many companies to adjust their approach to employee training. Staying up to date with the latest trends and developments keeps your business competitive, your employees happy, and your turnover rates low.
Investment in high-quality employee training has consistently demonstrated a high ROI. Knowing when to adjust the training process is the key to becoming an employer of choice, even during the Great Resignation.
Adaptation to new employee training and development trends is a continuous process that requires a structured approach. Let's take a closer look at how this works.
Create the Best Impression for New Hires
High-quality training doesn't just help employees make significant contributions to the company's bottom line; it increases employee satisfaction. Both new and existing employees want to see how their work helps the company succeed.
The lack of proper onboarding and training affects employee engagement, morale, and productivity. When they don't understand the purpose and results of their work, these people are highly likely to look for other employment options.
Low-quality onboarding is the key reason behind high employee turnover. Almost 70% of employees who enjoy a good onboarding and initial training experience remain with the company for at least three years.
By following the latest trends and arranging effective training, you make an excellent impression on new hires and turn them into brand ambassadors. Besides improving employee retention rates, you are getting assistance with recruitment.
Tips to Adapt to New Trends
Employee training trends can vary from company to company and from industry to industry. That's why each business has to take a customized approach to change its training tactics.
With a wide variety of new training technologies emerging every year, it's up to the HR team to sift through available options. In many cases, new technologies can streamline your training process. However, sometimes, they can also hinder it.
From AI-powered training tools to gamification tactics, it's easy to feel lost in the sea of new trends. Here are a few things you can do:
- Evaluate how your Learning Management System (LMS), if any, compares to new options on the market.
- Ask your existing employees how they would have changed their training process.
- Look at what training trends your competition is adopting and how it works for them.
- Test remote training software (using free trials or basic version) to check its efficiency.
The trial-and-error methods can be too expensive, especially for small businesses. However, ignoring the new trends (e.g., Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training) is out of the question.
Analyze your current training approach and see how it fares in the broad training environment. Figure out what goals you want to achieve besides better retention and higher productivity. This information can help you determine which trends can bring value to your business.
Create a Plan Based on Your Company's Needs
Once you evaluate your training methods and identify goals you want to achieve by following new trends, you must create a plan.
Training methods for different companies and industries can vary tremendously. For example, training an office worker can involve providing access to the knowledge base, sharing learning videos, and arranging remote training sessions. Meanwhile, warehouse workers may benefit more from structured on-site training with mentorship to assist their learning.
When streamlining your training plan, you need to keep several elements in mind:
- Tools – you can automate many parts of the training process and allow other employees to focus on their immediate tasks instead of helping newbies.
- Quality – while training is a way to give people new skills as fast as possible, it's only effective if employees are engaged. That's why the training process should be as captivating and exciting as possible without forcing employees to keep biting off more than they can chew.
- Feedback – for blue-collar roles, you can gather input from your existing employees to determine how to improve new worker training.
Ask new employees about their preferred training style and try to adapt to it. It can help them feel supported during onboarding, simplify learning, and increase efficiency.
Help New Hires Feel Supported Through Training
High-quality training makes employees feel confident about their skills and enjoy a positive work experience. Supporting employees through training is the key to ensuring the success of the process while showing your involvement.
When employees feel that you've invested thought and care in the training process, they are more likely to feel engaged. Ensuring engagement from the first days at work leads to higher productivity and lower turnover.
According to Gallup, companies that work on improving employee engagement benefit from an 18% increase in productivity and a 21% increase in profitability.
Making the Most Out of New Employee Training and Development Trends
Improving your new employee training plan is a continuous process. You can streamline training, improve engagement, reduce turnover, and increase profitability by identifying which latest trends apply to your business.
Working with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) can help you stay up-to-date with the latest training developments, improve your new and existing training programs, and help you take advantage of emerging training technologies.
Outsourcing training to professionals allows your team to gain more time for focusing on revenue-generating tasks.
