You’ve conducted a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and the results are in: training is indeed required to make sure your organisation forges ahead successfully.
It’s generally accepted these days that some degree of employee training is an important part of any successful organisation. Training can reduce the skills gaps identified in TNA and improve morale by showing employees you care enough to invest in them and their development. As mentioned in our previous TNA blog, it can also help you build a succession plan for your company’s future. All of these ultimately serve to increase your business’ productivity and profitability. This kind of makes training sound a bit like the goose that laid the golden egg, doesn’t it? But here’s the kicker: like anything else, training is only useful if it’s the right kind of training.
It is important to determine what training methods are best suited to your company needs. Before you can decide on that though, there are a few logistics to consider up front:
- Will the training be done in-house or outsourced to a third-party – in terms of both trainer and training space?
- If it’s in-house, do you have the appropriate space for the number of employees being trained?
- How many trainees will be involved?
- How much budget do you have to spend on training?
- How much time can you spare? Remember that not only is this costing you in terms of paying a trainer, but also in terms of employees’ time technically spent off the job.
- How will your business actually benefit from training in tangible terms? What do you want your employees to learn – things specific to your business or more general ‘best practices’ type lessons?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you can get down to the business of comparing training methods to decide which is best suited to your organisation’s needs, objectives and budget, in terms of both time and the money spent on training.
Watch out for our next blog for more on the potential training methods at your disposal. Just in case you missed it, click here to read the first in our series on TNA.
