Engaging Employee Training: How to Make Learning Stick and Boost Performance

Why Training Matters More Than Ever

If you’re responsible for training employees in your landscaping, tree care, or lawn care business, ask yourself this: Are your training sessions truly effective?

Do your employees walk away with valuable skills they can immediately apply, or do they count down the minutes until it’s over? The truth is, training isn’t just about checking a box—it’s about ensuring your team has the knowledge, confidence, and skills to do their jobs well.

Effective training programs don’t just happen. They require strategy, engagement, and an approach that gets employees excited about learning. If you dread leading training sessions, chances are your employees feel the same way. So, how do you transform training from a mandatory exercise into something that actually improves performance?

It starts with how you train.

The Difference Between a Trainer and a Teacher

A great trainer doesn’t just share information—they make learning stick.

A well-known landscape company with over 100 locations across the country understood this when they hired a full-time trainer. Rather than choosing someone from within the industry, they brought in a teacher with nearly two decades of experience engaging students.

The decision was simple: Anyone can learn industry systems, but not everyone has the ability to effectively transfer knowledge. The result? More engaged franchisees, better retention of material, and an overall improvement in performance.

So, what can you do to ensure your training sessions are engaging and effective?

3 Proven Strategies to Make Training More Effective

Let’s break down three key techniques that will make a real impact on how you train your team.

1. Build Connections from the Start

The best trainers understand that learning starts with engagement. If you want your employees to listen, you have to make it personal.

Here’s how to do that:?

→ Know your audience before the session begins. Learn their names, their roles, and their challenges.?

→ Arrive early and personally greet each attendee. A simple “Hey Mike, good to see you!” makes people feel valued.?

→ Start with a question that sparks discussion. Try: “What’s the best training experience you’ve ever had?” This helps employees see that training can be interactive rather than passive.

Training shouldn’t feel like a lecture—it should feel like a conversation.

2. Use Multimedia to Make Learning More Dynamic

Some training experts argue that PowerPoint should be avoided. That’s nonsense. It’s not about the tool—it’s about how you use it.

A PowerPoint deck filled with text-heavy slides and endless bullet points will put anyone to sleep. Instead, create presentations that enhance learning, not hinder it:?

→ Use visuals, not just words. Photos, videos, and graphics make content more digestible.?

→ Keep text minimal. If a slide has more than a few lines of text, it’s probably too much.?

→ Leverage short, engaging video clips. Choose videos that resonate with the younger workforce (Millennials and Gen Z), who now make up the majority of trainees.

And don’t forget—multimedia means more than just PowerPoint. Incorporate whiteboards, props, or even hands-on demonstrations to drive your point home.

3. Make Training Interactive

No one wants to sit through a three-hour monologue. The key to retention is engagement.

How can you make training more interactive??

→ Pop quizzes. Ask quick questions throughout the session and encourage group participation.?

→ Open discussions. Invite employees to share their experiences and ask questions freely.?

→ Role-playing exercises. This works especially well for customer service and management training. Employees learn more by doing than by listening.?

→ Hands-on learning. If you’re training someone to prune trees, put the tool in their hand. Would you rather read about how to cut properly, or get real-time feedback as you do it?

These methods turn passive learners into active participants, which means they’ll retain more and apply it better in the field.

Great Training = Better Performance

An engaging and well-structured training program doesn’t just teach employees—it empowers them.

→ When employees feel valued, they pay more attention.?

→ When training is interactive, employees retain more information.?

→ When learning is engaging, employees are more likely to share their knowledge with others.

And that’s how you build a strong, well-trained team.

If training in your business feels like an afterthought, it’s time to revamp your approach. Invest in making your training engaging, and you’ll see results in productivity, performance, and employee retention.

Want to Take Your Training to the Next Level?

If you’re ready to improve how you train your trainers, crew leaders, and staff, join me for an exclusive two-part online masterclass:

February 25 & 26, 2025 1:00 – 2:30 PM EST each day Title: Training Your Trainers: Elevating Trainer Skills to Achieve Success

This session is designed for business owners, crew leaders, and trainers in the landscaping, tree care, and lawn care industries. You’ll learn how to structure training, provide meaningful feedback, and ensure your team learns quickly and efficiently.

Here’s What You’ll Learn:

→ How to create structured training programs that actually work. → The secrets to keeping employees engaged during training. → How to provide feedback that sticks and helps employees improve. → Strategies for reducing mistakes, improving efficiency, and boosting morale.

Early Bird Pricing Available Until February 18! → $69 (Masterclass only, both sessions included) → $99 (Masterclass + Manual, both sessions included)

Reserve your spot today and start building a stronger, more skilled team in 2025.

Click here to register now.

Final Thought:

Great training doesn’t just happen—it’s designed.

If you make training fun, employees will engage. If employees engage, they’ll retain more. And if they retain more, your business will thrive.

Let’s make it happen.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch. Fred