Employee training sessions are an investment for all parties involved. Your organization has invested time and resources into selecting a provider, scheduling the training, and arranging the logistics. Your employees are investing time and effort to attend the training and trying to make the most of their session. Here are five ways to make the training more effective.
1. Gather Employee Input Ahead of Time
Getting a better understanding of which questions and issues your employees have can help the trainer tailor the content of the training to exactly what your employees want and need. You can send out a survey that employees can answer anonymously, or consult employees briefly one-on-one far in advance of the training so that you can let the trainer plan in advance.
2. Let Employees Know What to Expect From the Training
Employees might have some preconceived notions about what kind of workplace training to expect. Harassment and discrimination are issues that make many of us uncomfortable — and understandably so. The idea of discussing fraught or indelicate issues with colleagues can make people nervous, which can affect their attitudes coming into the training. If you let your employees know a little bit about what to expect before they begin the training, it can help to put their minds at ease.
3. Invest in Comfortable Seating
Many of us know what it’s like to sit through a long corporate training session crammed next to dozens of other employees in seats that are only comfortable for the first 30 minutes. Making sure your employees are able to sit comfortably is another easy way to minimize distractions and pave the way for a good training session.
4. Double-Check the Equipment Requirements
Nothing interrupts the flow of a good training session like a hardware failure. Many trainers will need some sort of A/V equipment to supplement their presentation, for example. Others might require that each employee have some kind of writing instrument. The day before (not the day of the training), make sure that all equipment and supplies are ready and have been tested.
5. Provide Food and Refreshments
You don’t want to take the risk of your employees rushing into the training without having had a chance to eat breakfast, or had their morning coffee. Healthy food helps with focus, and it can brighten the mood and help create a relaxing atmosphere before the official training begins.
In short, the right amount of preparation can go a long way towards making your training stick.
All of these things are important, however, one of them, if done well, can really make a profound difference especially when conducting harassment and civility training. By gathering employee input on questions and issues ahead of time has allowed me to be better prepared to keep it real during the actual training session ensuring that the message was tailored to the audience and in a context that they could easily relate to.