Drive organizational success with the right employee training programs

According to a report by Springboard, 70% of leaders reported critical skills gaps within their organizations, while 40% of leaders reported that the skills gap at their organization has only grown over the last year. As a result, emphasis on employee development has increased, and organizations are implementing several types of training programs in a bid to close skills gaps.

Employee training programs are crucial for organizational success, as they help develop talent and provide employees with the opportunity to gain the latest skills required to stay relevant in the constantly changing market. Investing in different types of employee training programs also allows organizations to stay ahead of their competitors.

Employee training programs are a structured approach to enhancing the knowledge, abilities, and skills of the organization’s workforce. They are designed based on the current competencies of the employees and the skills they require to succeed in their job roles in the future. It starts with a training gap analysis to understand areas that need to be addressed.

Beyond helping the workforce gain more knowledge and skills, employee training programs also help foster a culture of continuous learning and adaptability within the organization and ensure that the workforce stays competitive in the evolving business landscape.

Improve employee motivation and job satisfaction

Different types of training programs offer employees the opportunity to improve and expand their skill sets and support the creation of a workplace environment of continuous learning and personal development. Therefore, employee training initiatives improve job satisfaction and open new avenues for employees’ career advancement.

Better productivity and performance

Employee training programs help improve productivity within the organization. Training programs ensure that employees are equipped with the tools, skills, and knowledge that they require to perform their jobs more efficiently. Certain training programs, like sales or customer service training, can directly affect the team’s performance and customer engagement. Well-trained employees have better product knowledge, which helps enhance their sales-generating abilities and foster brand loyalty.

Ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training is an essential requirement today. DEI is important for building a workplace that encourages, respects, and values diverse backgrounds, demographics, and perspectives. These types of training programs raise awareness about important issues, like microaggressions and unconscious bias, and promote innovation and collaboration across diverse teams.

Lower turnover rates

Employee turnover is not only inconvenient but costly as well, given the recruitment, onboarding, training, and lost productivity. With the right training programs in place, employee turnover rates can be reduced. Receiving continuous training opportunities ensures that employees feel valued and are engaged in their job roles. This further improves job satisfaction and fosters a sense of loyalty

1. Orientation

Employee orientation training provides new hires with basic information about the organization to prepare them for their new job role. Orientation is designed to educate new hires, address any queries or questions they may have, help them make meaningful contributions to the organization, and set them up for success in their new job role.

2. Onboarding

Onboarding is a process designed to support new employees by providing them with the knowledge and resources necessary for productivity in their job role. This includes understanding their responsibilities, familiarizing themselves with the workplace culture, learning about the company products, and understanding how to use company resources.

3. Compliance training

These types of training programs are mandated by regulations, policies, or legislation. Compliance training is for educating employees about the laws and regulations that are applicable to the function of their job role, the industry that the organization operates in, or laws for the protection of worker rights. Effective compliance training programs ensure proper governance, prevent misconduct and protect employees.

4. Product training

Product training programs educate employees on the products or services offered by the organization. Product training can focus on different aspects and learning goals based on the job role of the employee in question.

5. Leadership training

Leadership training, or leadership development programs, are designed to develop the skills and competencies of mid-level employees, who have the potential to transform into future leaders. Leadership training programs improve employee morale and retention rates, promote informed decision-making, help build stronger teams, enhance leadership styles, and develop an internal talent pipeline for future leaders.

6. Technical training

Technical training revolves around the hard skills required by employees to fulfill their job role’s responsibilities and succeed in it. Organizations expect their employees to have at least the basic knowledge and skills for the job role. However, each organization may have different governance and processes, which makes technical training programs and on-demand performance support crucial.

7. Quality assurance training

Quality assurance training programs are designed to help employees gain a better understanding of the quality assurance activities in place at the organization. This enables employees to manage and improve processes to ensure that the final product or service meets industry quality standards.

8. Sales training

Sales training programs are primarily implemented for the sales team to help them enhance their skills, learn new selling techniques, understand how sales tools can be used effectively, discover novel approaches to selling, learn how to overcome challenges, and more.

9. Soft skills training

Soft skills training programs revolve around personal attributes, like communication, problem-solving, conflict management, etc., which are important for an employee to succeed in their job role and for their career development. Regardless of the job role or seniority, all employees across an organization must have certain soft skills to work efficiently and successfully.

10. Team training

Team training programs foster better team dynamics across the organization, ensuring that each team member is offered the same opportunities for professional growth. Team training programs improve employee morale, enhance overall efficiency, and ensure high job satisfaction for all team members.

11. Diversity, equity, and inclusion training

DEI training programs aim to spread awareness around diversity-related issues within the organization. These training programs focus on facilitating positive interactions within the workplace and reducing discrimination and prejudice among employees. Employees are encouraged to embrace people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, regardless of their nationality, race, religion, etc.

12. Safety training

Safety training programs are crucial in industries where physical labor is involved. These types of training programs reduce the risk to individual employees and the organization’s potential liability. This may include common training programs, like lockdown drills and fire prevention activities, as well as industry-specific training programs, like food safety training for companies in food service.

13. Upskilling

Upskilling refers to learning new skills and acquiring competencies relevant to the current work environment and the future. Upskilling programs focus on improving the skill sets of employees through various methodologies, like continuous training programs, to help employees advance in their job roles and careers.

14. Reskilling

Reskilling is the process of learning new skills to shift into a different job role within the organization. Reskilling aims to prepare employees with the skills and competencies they need to meet the demands of the new job role. Typically, reskilling is required in situations where an employee’s previous responsibilities are no longer relevant, often because of skills gaps or technological advancements.

• Learning experiences should be creative and engaging: The success of a training program depends on how engaging it is and how much interest it generates among the employees. Incorporating interactive elements into the training content can help organizations create engaging and immersive learning experiences.
• Technology should be leveraged for training delivery: Employee assessment and training software can effectively organize and streamline training delivery. Organizations can use scientifically validated training needs assessments or skills gap analysis to understand the training requirements of the workforce and to gain insights that can guide the personalization of training programs for individual employees.
• Training goals and organizational goals must align: All strategies for creating effective employee training programs should be aligned with the strategic priorities of the organization. It is also important to establish what a successful training program looks like, apart from a simple course completion, clear training goals should be established for the employees.
• Training programs should be personalized: Different employees may have different learning requirements and preferences. That is why it is crucial to ensure that different types of training programs are tailored to meet the specific needs of employees, with specific content and training delivery methods.
• Continuous improvement must be ensured: It is important to evaluate the effectiveness of the employee training programs regularly. One of the best ways to do this is by collecting and analyzing data on learner engagement and progress. The data-driven approach helps understand which areas may need improvement and ensures that the employee training programs remain impactful over time.

• Assessing training needs: Establish business goals and determine the skills, competencies, and knowledge requirements that should be addressed through the employee training program.
• Using different types of training programs: Group discussions, classroom teaching, skills-based training, seminars, and instructor-based learning are some of the types of training that you can choose from based on what suits your employees.
• Setting clear learning objectives: Set clear and reasonable learning objectives. It is important to outline what the participating employees should be able to achieve or perform after the training program.
• Using the right training content: The content and curriculum for the training program should cover all the topics that are relevant to the training. Having a detailed outline of the content can ensure an organized and structured approach to training programs.
• Selecting the right trainers and facilitators: It is important to pick experienced trainers who have a deep knowledge of the subject matter and are skilled in delivering effective, engaging training sessions.
• Ensuring optimum training delivery: The training sessions should start with an introduction and objectives. It is important to present the content in a clear, organized manner, use interactive aids (if possible), encourage group discussions and promote engagement, use case studies and real-life examples to make it relatable, and invite the participants for Q&A.
• Taking feedback: Feedback should be collected from the participating employees about the training program. Find out what worked well and what needs improvement.
• Evaluating outcomes: Assess whether the learning objectives have been met with the training program in place. Analyze whether participants are applying their skills in their day-to-day work and whether there have been changes in their performance or behavior.

Implementing the right employee training programs is crucial for driving organizational success. By investing in training, organizations can improve overall performance and efficiency, boost employee motivation and job satisfaction, ensure diversity and inclusion, and reduce turnover rates.

Explore a range of data-driven solutions by Mercer | Mettl that help manage, streamline, and optimize employee training and learning and development processes. Organizations can reinvent their employee development strategies to drive growth.