Targeting the Right Training Areas Pays Dividends

Employee training can be valuable at times, but too often, it is improperly used to deal with things that training cannot readily resolve.

Employee training is the solution if there is proof that inefficiencies or chronic mistakes are due to a lack of ability or knowledge. For these types of situations, a properly developed program with tailored informational materials, relevant examples, training exercises and evaluations will lead to a massive return on investment.

Too frequently, the main problems in an organization are related to structural problems, including poor decision-making methods, a lack of transparency or unevenly distributed authority that is too concentrated at the top of the company. An employee training program is very unlikely to address problems in these areas.

If you are going to make investments in employee training, it should be focused on specific and important business needs. When looking to make targeted investments in employee skills development, it’s important to make sure certain structural and cultural conditions are being met.

What Is the Impact of Providing the Right Training Opportunities to Your Employees and Organization?

Healthy Internal Structures and Processes

The recognition of undesirable habits is a sign that change needs to happen. However, the roots of undesirable behavior might not be down to a lack of skill. Structural problems might include the ways that managers deliberately or subconsciously set up priorities for their team, communication, cultural values, behavior reinforcement, performance reviews or business hierarchy. If there are problems in those areas that aren’t being dealt with, employee training may be ineffective.

An Openness to Change

Simply because a company identifies the root causes behind unwanted habits, it doesn’t mean that people in the company are ready to address them. An all-too-common reaction to structural issues being raised is to concentrate on training first, with the thinking that it will create momentum toward structural change. Sadly, if a company isn’t willing to deal with structural problems first, training will not produce its designated benefit.

Training that Speaks to Strategic Priorities

Even if any structural issues have been addressed through change, a training program with has no apparent purpose or end objective, it reduces the chance of seeing a significant return on investment.

For instance, a business might hold a mindfulness workshop to deal with high levels of employee stress, which was brought on by employees being overworked. This might help people focus and reduce stress in the short term, but the root cause of employee stress most likely wasn’t addressed. In this situation, a training solution might appear to have strategic relevance because it spoke to what workers were saying, but mindfulness training doesn’t address what triggered staff members’ high stress levels. There is a multitude of reasons why a heavy workload caused excessive stress in staff members, and time would likely be better spent attempting to determine ways to lower the workload for each individual.

We Can Support Your Employee Training Initiatives

At SMCI, we work hand-in-glove with our clients to ensure their workforce is fully capable of achieving organizational goals. Please contact us today to find out how we can help your company.