With globalization, organizations around the world have changed the way they interact and do business on a global scale. Globalisation has indeed made the world a better place, bringing people together to share technology for mutual benefits. As such, employee training in this respect is something very crucial but is often overlooked by the corporate hierarchy.  Recent studies have concluded that investing in various employee development and training programs are beneficial for the staff and for the organization itself in the long-run. They are an important part of keeping employees satisfied, happy and engaged.

Below are ten undeniable statistics, which support the above argument, for anyone who is still not convinced of its importance.

• Losses due to employee disengagement amount to over $500 Million every year according to Entrepreneur
• Companies which make an investment in employee training enjoy 24% more profit margin when compared to companies which do not according to Huffington Post
• 74% of employees feel that are not working as per their full potential and 72% think about contributing financially to their training according to Institute for Work Based Learning
• 87% of the millennial claim that professional development, as well as career growth, is very important to them according to Gallup
• 40% of employees who work with poor training are known to quit within a year according to go2HR
• 36% of employees would quit a $5,000 per year job to be happier at work according to Officevibe
• 68% of workers claim that training and development is the most important company policy according to ClearCompany

Thus as evidenced above, a comprehensive training program can ensure that employees are just aren’t’ “merely satisfied” with their jobs, and are also committed, involved and enthusiastic about carrying out their daily responsibilities. All of these facets make an enterprise a “well-oiled engine”.

Employee Training and Development Secrets

There are some small secrets regarding what employees want from different training opportunities. However, for a staffer, these will have a tremendous impact on how he/she considers their options for providing employee training.

The above mentioned key factors are crucial for any organization wanting to multiply the values of their employee training and development programs. These are explained in brief below:

• Training and development for employees should never only be restricted to company assigned directives and directions. Instead, employees should also be allowed to pursue training and development according to the direction they please. A proper balance between the two is thus always recommended.
• A company should always recognize key factors for keeping employee happy, which include whether the employee is interested, properly engaged, and attentive in a learning organization environment, Thus, companies need to support general knowledge, rather than only knowledge regarding the company assigned the role or the next anticipated job.

Employee Training Options:

It’s not just in external training classes and seminars that you find employee training opportunities. It is also present in the context of the employee’s assigned job and responsibilities. Employers can acquire important information from both different internal and external training opportunities.

The information received can emphasize what people require from employee training and development programs. It gives the organization an opportunity to cultivate devoted, growing employees, who can benefit both the company and themselves, using the training opportunities provided.

Employee Training Options - Job Content and Responsibilities:

Employers can have a significant impact on an employee’s training and development, by delegating different responsibilities to the employee in the course of his/her job.  Here, the level of content of the job, as well as keeping track of what the employee does regularly on the job is a key factor in training and professional development. Below are few ideas on how employers can provide on the job training for the employees.

1. The job should be expanded to accommodate new, higher levels of responsibility to assist the employee to stretch his/her skills.
2. Responsibilities should be reassigned periodically, especially those not preferred by the employee, such as jobs that are routine or have been performed over a long period of time.  Such employees can assist others with his expertise to help other employees grow while alleviating boredom.
3. Employees should be provided with more opportunities for self-management, and decision making. This further helps the employee broaden his/her horizons in the workplace.
4. Employees should be invited to contribute in several important decisions making and planning, on a department or company-wide level.
5. Employees should be encouraged to attend more important and desirable meetings inside the organization.
6. Certain employees should be included on specific email lists for company briefings and other activities to provide them with more high-level information.
7. Employees should be invited to take part in the process of establishing future goals, priorities and other measurements.
8. Another way to help employees grow professionally is by letting them manage co-workers on an authoritative level. One way to do this is to assign certain reporting staff members to his/her leadership of management position.
9. Employees can also be asked to lead projects or teams to further cultivate leadership skills.
10. Employees should be encouraged to spend more time with their boss or any senior designation. The mentoring, sponsoring and coaching that the employee receives is beneficial for expanding the employee’s skills.
11. All employees should be given the opportunity to cross train in other roles and responsibilities.

Employee Training Options: Internal Training and Development

Generally, employees recognize and appreciate the opportunity for developing additional knowledge and skills without the need to leave work or the workplace. Here internal development and training play a key role. This is because internal training helps employees to get used to the various examples used, the terminology as well as the opportunities for discussion. External training methods do not offer this.

1. Employees should be directed to attend an internally offered training session, conducted by either a co-worker in their department or by an outside presenter or trainer. External providers can sometimes improve the quality of training, providing employees with the opportunity to know more about their organization’s culture.
2. Employees should be directed to train other employees with the information learned at a seminar or training session.
3. To ensure that the employees have grasped whatever is being taught, employers should go over the activities listed before, during and after the meeting has been adjourned with their employees.
4. Business books should be purchased for the betterment of the employee’s knowledge. A great way of doing this is to set up an employee book club.
5. Commonly needed training materials and information should be provided by an internal company website for employees convenience.
6. Training should also include casual exchanges between employees during lunch breaks. Important points to increase productivity and provide updates on new products that make work easier can be exchanged among them.
7. Developers and other employees can set up a daylong conference at a conference center, allowed to be attended by all employees that are interested.

Employee Training: External Training as well as Development

Providing external training along with development programs are a crucial facet of assisting employees in developing their skills and introducing new ideas into the organization.

1. Attaining degrees and attendance certificates from such programs can help employees work with people from diverse backgrounds and ideas.
2. Employers should pay for employee’s memberships in different external professional associations. Employees can attend the meetings, read the journals provided and in turn regularly update their co-workers.
3. Attending external seminars, conferences and training events should be frequently encouraged.
4. Employers should pay the employees for attending online classes and other low or no cost training opportunities.
5. Employers should prepare the schedule keeping in mind the university, college or formal educational sessions of the employees.
6. Employees should also be provided with tuition assistance. This, in turn, can encourage the employee to pursue additional employee training and education.

From the above discussion, it is evident that employee training opportunities have endless possibilities and benefits, limited only by imagination. It is an important step in ensuring that employees develop, build their strength and skill sets for the job at hand. This, in turn, increases the ability of the employees to contribute more to the organization.

The above training options are thus helpful to optimize employee motivation and retention.