Embarking on a work training program can give you hope for an enriching growing experience with your team. You want to provide your team with the necessary knowledge and skills to perform at their optimum. Afterall, change can be difficult across an organization, so giving your team the confidence through the transition makes that process more impactful.
The best way to catalyse these changes is to carefully select your training program to suit your team dynamics and needs. Career Directions Limited offers customized training programs in order to proffer solutions that are actionable and effective. For more information on this, visit our website at www.cdl.co.ke
Before we discuss the considerations, how can you tell whether your team needs training? The main purpose of training is to improve employee skills, performance, and overall organizational success. Here are some common situations that lead to companies needing to provide training for their workers:
- New Employee Onboarding
- Introduction of New Technology
- Changes in Processes or Procedures
- Compliance and Regulatory Requirements
- Skill Gaps
- Performance Improvement
- Career Development
- Employee Engagement and Retention
- Leadership Development
- Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives
- Customer Service Improvement
- Safety and Risk Mitigation
- Soft Skills Enhancement
- Succession Planning
- Market Changes
- Conflict Resolution
If you identify with some of these points, this might be a good time to equip your team with relevant and competitive skills/knowledge. Before settling on a plan, here are some considerations to help you narrow down on the right approach for you and your team;
- Geographical Spread of Your Team; If your team is spread out through the country - or even across continents - then technological adaptation will be a necessary component of your training program. Preparation might be a part of ensuring that your team has equal access and involvement. The right program will put into consideration time zones and different technological aptitudes so that everyone in your team can be included, but also experience the most effective learning experience
- Continued Learning Versus First Time Learning; Building on previous learning will require less time and investment as opposed to first time training. It is therefore advisable to do quarterly check-ins or progressive learning so as to reduce the overload of having to learn too much at once. Ask your instructor to share the best plans for retention and practice of learnings
- Working With The Same Instructor Versus Different Ones; On a similar tangent, if you have worked with and enjoyed the experience with a specific trainer, you may want to maintain the pairing so as to maintain your previous experience. While instructors will each be qualified, personality differences can bring out a different side of your team depending on your company culture. On the other hand, engaging with a different trainer might make your sessions more interesting and fulfilling, depending on how they embody the sessions
- Keeping An Open Mind At The Diagnosing Stage; The first step is to identify your challenge so as to decipher your organization's needs. It is worth noting that one challenge can have different causes. For instance, late project completions can be due to unideal technological tools/software or it can be due a lack of proper delegation of projects. You don't want to invest in a new technology in the hopes of improving productivity if the issue lies in a need for restructuring team processes and distribution of projects. Therefore, as a leader, it is important to listen to various perspectives before landing on a solution. Be honest with your prospective instructor so that they can guide you to the best solutions
- Team demographics; Many organizations are cross-generational and cross-cultural. This is something to share with your training instructor so that they can be mindful of teaching methods and approaches. Your instructor should not be fixated one a single approach that is only relevant to one group in your team. Rather, everyone should feel represented. Whether it is using more user friendly and interactive approaches or checking in more frequently to ensure your team is both challenged and supported
- Time Commitment; If you're in a busy time period, you may consult your instructor on whether there are some options to stagger your learning over a period of time. Alternatively you can prioritize your learning based on your needs. Our programs often take 2-4 days depending on the topic at hand and whether your are building on existing knowledge or exploring it from the ground up
- Location; Before you decide whether you would like to do the training within your offices or at a rented out space, here are some things to think about; Would you like to create a simulation that is as close to the job as possible, or are you more interested in getting your team to think outside the box? If you want your team to bond or think outside the box, you might consider training at a location that will create that atmosphere. If, however, you would like the training to feel like a real job situation, you might consider doing the training at your organization's offices - keeping in mind whether you would have enough space and little disruption
- Technological aptitude; Learning a new technology might eat into your actual training time, or it might require a longer training duration. You may ask your instructor what teaching methods he or she will be using beforehand so that you can brief your team before the training. At Career Directions Limited, we employ various learning methods such as lectures, demos, group discussions, simulations, role play, assignments and customized challenges so as to accommodate a variety of learning styles.
Undertaking training for your team is both a monetary and a time investment, making it that much more important to find the right program and instructor.
If you are interested in learning about our training methods, contact us today;
