Let’s start with a terrifying
fact for employers: 40
percent of
employees who receive poor (or no) on-the-job training leave within the first
year of employment. And when employees leave, it costs you.
Think on-the-job
training is too expensive or too much of a hassle to deal with?
You need to have a an on-the-job training program
in your business. On-the-job training is an investment in time and money, but
it’s also an investment into your most important asset: your employees.
Why Do You Need On-The-Job
Training?
On-the-job training seems
like it would mainly benefit employers. After all, well-trained and skilled
employees mean increased productivity and growth. But there’s so much more to
it.
Look at that statistic — almost
half of employees leave a business because of lack of training! Clearly there
is something more at stake for employers than just having skilled employees.
Offering great on-the-job training programs means that:
1.
You will have happier employees. Employees who are given
on-the-job training, for example, are more committed to your business. The are
also happier, and 30
percent are more excited about their work (as opposed to 14 percent who receive no
training).
2.
You will build a pool of employees that you
can promote. By
providing on-the-job training to employees, you are creating a highly skilled
workforce in your business as well as creating a mindset of “always learning.”
This pays off big when you need to promote managers in the future. You have a
loyal and skilled pool of employees to choose from, employees who already know
your business.
3.
You will attract employees during hiring. If your company exists
in a tight job market or in an industry where it is difficult to attract (and
retain) good employees, on-the-job training can help. It’s an attractive
benefit for employees who want to better themselves, and it indicates you’re
willing to build your company from the inside, hinting at the possibility of
promotion.
4.
You build flexibility into your workforce. Gone is the attitude of
“that’s not my job” when you have a workforce that is trained well. While you
don’t want to train every employee to do everything (more on that later),
training can extend employee abilities beyond a narrow and walled approach of
only doing the bare minimum.
How to know if on-the-job training is necessary.
For smaller companies, or those
just getting off the ground, it may seem as if on-the-job training isn’t
necessary. At some point, though, you will probably need to institute an
on-the-job training program. When does that point arrive?
Changes require on-the-job
training, whether it’s a change in employees, promotions, or how you do
business. Some of the most common changes that need some sort of on-the-job
training include:
- Change in technology. For example, you’ve updated the computers or the point-of-sale
system that you use.
- Change in
business practice. You’ve pivoted, changing your focus or goals as a company.
- Change in
company policies. You’ve changed how your employees do their work, or what you expect
of them.
- Lots of new
employee hires. You have a larger number of new employees than long-time employees,
i.e. most of your workforce doesn’t know how things work while fewer do.
- Noticeable
slow-down in productivity. Whether on the factory line or in the office, productivity
slow-downs are an indicator that employees don’t know what to do. There’s
a glitch in your system.
- Your business is
growing.
- Your current
training was the bare minimum.
Many companies get by, even
through significant changes, by leaning on the fact that the long-time
employees will naturally work with new hires simply because if they don’t, the
work doesn’t get done. That’s a bad habit to get into; it breeds
dissatisfaction and frustration, and chases away long-term employees who get
fed up.
If you’re not immediately sold
on the idea of setting up some form of on-the-job training, a good rule of
thumb is to watch for chaos or complaints that seem to surround some of the
changes listed above. If you see it, you’re already behind the training curve.
A better option?
Assume your company is growing
and will need on-the-job training and get
started planning it right now. Don’t wait for the change and subsequent
chaos.
Planning Successful On-The-Job
Training Programs
Creating a training program is
not difficult as long as you break it down into logical steps. The ADDIE
method is
particularly useful when starting a training program from scratch:
- Assessment: what do your
employees need to know and be able to do in order to successfully do their
jobs?
- Design: what will your
on-the-job training program look like?
- Development: what methods, resources, and materials
will be in your training program?
- Implementation: how will you implement your training
program?
- Evaluation: how will you
know if your training met both your employees’ needs and your needs?
The ADDIE method is flexible,
essentially asking that you preconsider what you need and want for your
specific business, and then design and measure accordingly. So if you are
looking for job training visit Allindiayellowpage.com
to get details about job training institutes in your city.