In today’s knowledge economy, you need well-trained workers to protect and improve your bottom line. Training can be either technically or emotionally based, and emotional training often requires direct interaction in addition to online resources.
To develop and maintain effective training programs, we recommend these guidelines:
For examples of focused programs and safety-focused approaches, see Sales Development Training Program and Workplace Safety Training: Visuals, Repetition, Retraining, and SOPs.
Training guidelines
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Create a training system. Commit to training as a process rather than an event. Set clear standards for required hard and soft skills, and create a strategic plan, budget, and schedule.
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Provide the right tools. Not all training resources are created equal. Evaluate the user experience of your learning platform and the quality of the content available.
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Follow up. One-time exposure rarely creates lasting change. Provide ongoing coaching and reinforcement so employees can incorporate what they learn into daily work.
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Offer incentives. Give employees rewards or payoffs for participation. Incentives can be financial or non-monetary perks that reinforce the learning experience and encourage repetition.
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Leverage training. When an employee gains a useful insight, encourage them to share it with coworkers who will benefit. Multiply training impact by having workers immediately apply new knowledge.
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Know who pays. It can be hard to determine whether a worker or their employer should cover third-party training costs; consider these general pointers:
• An employer must compensate employees for mandatory training time unless it is directly related to professional licensing requirements.
• Voluntary training outside normal work hours is generally not compensable if it is not directly related to the employee’s current job duties.
• Training that directly benefits the employer is typically compensable, while voluntary training with no clear employer benefit may not be.
• Training expenses may be reimbursed on a pro‑rata basis if an employee agrees in advance and then leaves shortly afterward.
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Sell it to all stakeholders. Treat adoption as a sales job: show executives, managers, and employees how the benefits outweigh the time and cost commitments.
There you have it: a basic but powerful formula for training success.
Don Phin, Esq. is VP of Strategic Business Solutions at ThinkHR and has decades of HR and employment-practices experience. For more information, talk to an agent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an employer have to pay for required training?
Generally, employers must compensate employees for mandatory training time, though specifics vary by jurisdiction and job duties.
Is voluntary training compensable?
Voluntary training outside normal working hours is typically not compensable if it is unrelated to the employee’s current job.
Can an employer require repayment if an employee leaves after training?
Employers may use prearranged pro‑rata reimbursement agreements for training costs, provided the terms are agreed to in advance.