Modernizing the Workforce of Today
Innovations are determining people’s success, nowadays. Businesses and companies are constantly striving for better and efficient ways that will keep their staff happy, ongoing and productive in the long term.
That’s because it’s a win-win situation, for the company and the employee. And that’s exactly why U.S. companies spend more than $70 billion on employee training and development.
However, we must differ what it means to train an employee and to develop an employee, as these terms are pretty different.
Training is a program that helps employees learn specific knowledge or skills that will improve their performance in their current roles. Development, however, is a broader definition and it focuses on employee growth related to his/her future performance, rather than focusing only on the current job role.
Obviously, we can tell that as related as these terms may sound, their difference relies on long term sustainable goals, related to employee’s skills and mindset.
But what does it actually mean, to modernize this idea of development? How can we invest in their capacity building, in a way that corresponds well with the contemporary trends?
Consider your approach
It varies very much who decides to conduct the development programs. However, whether you are an expert from Human Resources or from the management, you should consider your approach towards the team you have.
Giving them strict information on the gaps you are encountering, mistakes and anomalies you have identified along the time, will not give you productive results. All you will induce is intimidation, and fear of involvement in regards to your employees. So what can you do instead?
Think socially. From teaching your employees soft skills, to more complicated data. Talk to your employees putting yourself on the perspective of their colleague.
Of course, you know that they will not be AS free to discuss their complaints with you, as they discuss among themselves. However, try to identify areas on which they feel slightly more insecure so that those can become your hints of employee ‘investment’.
Interaction
You will probably not be as helpful to your employees if you simply conduct a Powerpoint presentation with bullet points on areas where you think your team needs improvement. Let this development program be practical and interactive.
What you can do is divide specific tasks for your employees, and identify their best skills which they will be able to show during these tasks. Their problem-solving techniques and their ability to think critically will give you a clue about their long term contribution that they can give to your organization or company.
You can easily identify their best qualities, and place them in working areas that correspond well with this specific set of qualities. On the other hand, you may learn about their needs for further improvement, and suggest steps that can make them adapt to future changes.
Moral of the story, these development programs should be self-directed and should allow your employees to develop their careers, through self-reflection and internalization. You can together identify their opportunities of growth and future aspirations.
Rely on Technology
Experiential learning, Gamified learning, and Elearning. These are aspects of learning that can make employee development consistent, in the long term. Adding gaming elements to learning is a sure incitement of employee engagement.
In one survey, 91% of employees indicated that gamification improves their work experience by increasing engagement, awareness and productivity, while three-quarters of people aged 22-35 years old believe it should be present in a modern workplace learning environment.
However, make sure that all the types of training you decide to put out for your staff, will be diverse and dynamic.
Try Microlearning
Remember, there are different methods and different people. That’s why choosing how to apply them properly is a fine technique of its own. So in order not to have your team absorb a whole amount of data per once, you can try and have them digest tiny bits of information, consequently.
That’s exactly what Microlearning will do for you. This method deals with relatively small learning units and short-term learning activities. The term is used in e-learning and related fields in the sense of learning processes in mediated environments.
Microlearning is a holistic approach for skill-based learning and it involves short-term-focused strategies specially designed for skill-based understanding, learning and education.
Do not underestimate PEP talks
At the end of the day, you do not want to make your developing program sound like a strict evaluation (Although, it sort of is). But try to keep your employees going with positive energy and motivate them by showing appreciation. This will help them become loosen up, and it will remove their fear of committing, due to all the ‘I might be wrong’ inner voices.
OJT Supports the Workforce of Today Through Employee Development
One major key to the long term success of a company is the continued development of its employees. That’s why it’s imperative for companies to adopt OJT programs because observational learning is one of the most efficacious ways to train a workforce. Ensure your company never reaches a point of stagnation within your workforce and browse our directory for OJT providers.
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