This post was originally published on lessonly.com.
Let me tell you a story filled with intrigue, fun, drama and…okay, maybe not all that, but it is applicable to what I want to chat with you about today.
Jump back about three years with me, to one of my most pinnacle classes in college. This was truly a make-it-or-break-it class, and it was all about being part of a team for a full year. That’s right, it was a yearlong group project. For the most part, it was great, but looking back there’s one piece of feedback I wished I’d given my professors. Every single person in that class needed more than one hour of “how to work well with a team” experience. There were no provided training and development methods to help us truly prepare and I saw some teams, my own included, deal with it less than gracefully. Some completely crumbled.
I tell you this story because it points out what can happen if you ignore one of your team’s fundamental building blocks: training and development. Don’t let your team crumble—put focus on employee training and development right now.
Why is training and development relevant for team building?
This question is probably top of mind as you’re jumping into this, and I get it—it’s a big question. Employee training and development will help you build your team because it allows you to make sure you’re all on the same page from the get-go. New employees’ goals will align with everyone else’s. This leads to better collaboration and more engagement from all team members as they can see why what they do matters and how it plays into larger business goals.
So, what types of training can you offer?
Keep in mind that there are many different types of training methods and that you’ll need to find the one that works best for your team. Choosing effective training techniques will allow you to support your employees’ success in their role and on their team. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all sort of choice.
Here’s a small list of various training methods to consider. These are some of the most common, so this is a good place to start.
- Classroom style training
- 1:1 training
- Self training
- Automated training
One small note here: Since you’re building a team, different team members are going to respond differently to different training methods. That’ll be important to keep top of mind as you choose which training method to utilize.
Now, how are you going to deliver employee training?
Alrighty! Step two of setting up good training methods for employees is figuring out how exactly you’re going to get the training to them. Or maybe they’re going to have to go to the training (in-person, on-the-job training methods aren’t going anywhere, they’ll be back someday).
Either way, delivery matters.
As a software company (I know, we’re biased), we think using software to build, organize, and consistently customize your training is the way to go, but we recognize it may not be for everyone.
Just don’t go down the road of handing out disorganized pamphlets or providing too many links to go to all at once. That’s a recipe for disaster.
For the record, modern training methods are here to help too.
Many employee development methods nowadays live online! This means your training will be able to be accessed through any electronic device. Sure, your employees may not want to do all their training on their phone, but it’s great that they have the option. Plus, with all your content living online, it’s easy to keep updated and to create new training when necessary.
There are other pros for utilizing online training methods like:
- You won’t need to hire additional training facilitators during high-growth periods.
- Employees are able to redo/refresh any training that they’d like, which means they’re more likely to remember the information from each training lesson.
- Training can be taught in a way that suits the employees best instead of hinging on how the facilitator leads the training.
- You’ll be able to see exactly what training your employees have and have not completed and where they’re at in any assigned training.
- You’ll save money in the long-run, since you won’t have to constantly be bringing in training facilitators and you can reuse and easily update any training.
Final thoughts!
At the end of the day, choosing how to best train your employees isn’t going to be an easy decision but I hope that you recognize the importance of choosing the right training and development methods for your team along the way.
You are going to be able to build a stellar team, and we can help you take the right steps in getting there. Get a demo and learn more.
