Most companies recognize the importance of team training, but struggle to implement a training program or employee training software. This blog offers an inside look at how the Lessonly by Seismic team uses our own software. We hope these tips and examples provide a framework for effective and engaging team learning.
Think back to the first day of your job. Now take a look at where you—and your company—are at today. Hopefully, both you and your organization have grown and changed for the better.
We’ve experienced tremendous change over the years. With a constant flow of new roles, products, features, and processes, there’s plenty of knowledge that needs to be shared at any given time. That’s why we are advocates for continuous employee training—not just one-time onboarding. We believe ongoing training:
Boosts Performance—Continuous training empowers employees with essential information and gives them the confidence to do better work. Oftentimes, this results in a measurable increase in employee performance—which is key to driving organizational productivity.
Increases Employee Satisfaction—By investing in their personal growth, ongoing training communicates to employees that they are valued and appreciated. This positively impacts retention and engagement.
Expands Knowledge and Skills—Continuous training reinforces best practices, encourages knowledge retention, and promotes the practice of essential skills—recalibrating team members for optimal performance.
While there are plenty of advantages to ongoing training, here are just a few examples of how we benefit from a culture of continuous learning.
Create company-wide consistency
Recently, every single Lessonly by Seismic employee, no matter what department, practiced pitching our product. First, we took a lesson that featured in-depth information about who we are, what we do, and why we do it. The lesson also walked us through key messaging and positioning strategies. At the end of the lesson, each employee recorded a practice pitch with Video Response, enabling each of us to receive feedback and coaching for improved delivery and consistency.
You may be asking, “Don’t you already learn these things during employee onboarding?” Yes—but while this information is included in our onboarding process, it’s important to receive supplemental training over time. Studies show that employees only retain a small percentage of onboarding material—plus we’ve experienced a variety of company and industry changes—so providing employees with an up-to-date lesson was essential. As we continue to grow, it’s imperative that we’re all telling the same Lessonly story during key conversations‚—and providing opportunities for every employee to get on the same page.
Leverage meetings
Continuous training is also essential for managers and team leaders. Recently, we started monthly meetings that help our management team develop key leadership skills and traits. In order to make these “management study halls” as impactful as possible, managers complete lessons ahead of time that focus on various principles and topics. This means that in-person meetings can be used for feedback, questions, and open discussion—as opposed to conveying baseline information.
The managers also provide feedback and ask questions ahead of the meetings—allowing the training facilitator to prepare and design each in-person meetings so they address real concerns of attendees. This maximizes the impact of each meeting and pushes our managers—and the whole company—toward success.
Gain new product knowledge
Last fall we released a new product and a new software feature in the same week. But before we could share the exciting news with the world, we needed to equip employees with information about each offering. So, we created lessons full of new product and feature knowledge. To ensure everyone understood these items, each lesson also included quizzes and opportunities to “Ask the Expert” for clarification.
Having a knowledgeable team inevitably leads to empowered employees, increased sales, improved customer service, and enhanced relationships with customers.
We make product training an integral part of our continuous training efforts—the upside is huge We also create specific lessons for each department, rather than providing the same generic training to everyone. These tailored lessons, updated regularly, keep each team on the path to productivity.
Drive continuous training with Lessonly by Seismic
With Lessonly by Seismic, companies and managers provide ongoing training that helps customer service agents and sales reps around the world succeed. Our modern training software makes it easy to transform essential information into engaging training that empowers employees. Get a demo to learn more.
