How to Bridge Performance Gaps with Corporate Training?

In this ever-changing and fast-paced corporate world, where new skill sets evolve with every sunrise, training and development have become indispensable functions. Continuous training programs allow employees to develop new skill sets whenever they are needed and unlock new levels of productivity. It is also a crucial factor that determines a company’s speed-to-market capabilities and drives its competitive edge for the future.

According to recent surveys, organizations around the world spend an average of USD 1208 to USD 1888 per employee on training. However, 43% of employees find their training programs ineffective. When it comes to employers, only 25% of them notice performance improvement in their employees following the completion of training programs.

Keep reading!

Where do the roots of corporate training and performance gap lie?

Most organizations still use the traditional brick-and-mortar approach for corporate training. While the ancient classroom approach might work for interviews, meetings, and orientations, it is not well-suited for productivity-maximizing training programs. There are three main reasons for it: 

• Classroom lectures often lack engagement and limit the excitement of participants to learn. In order to ensure skill retention, a more interactive style is required. 
• Such training is always rigid, with fixed class times. Attending mandatory sessions becomes a bit frustrating for employees who are already juggling their work, family, and social life. 
• Most organizations have a multigenerational workforce with different learning preferences. The one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t suit them all. 

What organizations need is a digital and interactive learning approach where: 

• The training modules can be constantly updated and modified as and when required 
• Employees can determine their own learning path and complete the modules at a time that suits them 
• Learners can skip modules in areas where they are competent and focus on the ones, they are weak in 
• Leaders can monitor the pace and performance of every individual and give immediate feedback 

What are the ‘moments of need’ when your employees require corporate training?

Corporate training is not a one-time activity. You can’t just rely on the fundamental skills training throughout employees’ work life. As the business moves up from one step to the next, varied needs for corporate upskilling arise. If ignored, it can affect the performance of even the best people in your organization.

Let’s see what these moments of need are!

Employee onboarding 

This is an unavoidable training gap that almost all organizations go through. New employees join with limited knowledge of the company and the skills they need to do their job effectively.  

 Unsatisfactory performance 

Employees often struggle to keep up with the new responsibilities. They either don’t know how to apply their skills to their roles and complete the work tasks. This often leads to reduced productivity and lower sales.  

 New job roles or promotions 

During these moments, employees need more knowledge, skills, and experience to retain the new information. They also need the know-how of applying their learned skills to real-life situations.  

New business systems  

Every organization strives to be on the edge by frequently updating its equipment and systems. However, it’s not easy for your workforce to make this switch time and again. Most of them are unaware of the new technologies and might not be able to make the best use of them. 

Corporate shake-ups  

Management changes and mergers also lead to new policies and protocols. Such moments are challenging as they entail learning and unlearning at the same time. It might also involve dealing with a lot of new people and information.  

How to put together an always-effective training to close the performance gap?

While onboarding

Here you should offer micro-learning activities to the new hires. These activities should focus on specific abilities like interaction with virtual customers. You can also conduct periodic assessments to test their learned skills and provided training recommendations.

In case of unsatisfactory performance

In such events, it is prudent to conduct task analysis and observations to identify the training gaps. Once that is done, you can incorporate a task-based corporate training program including real-world examples and training videos. This helps to review every step of their task and correct performance.

During promotions

In such instances, it is essential to provide them with the necessary skills and support training. What is required here is a personalized plan that identifies their strengths and areas of improvement.

When businesses processes are updated

In case of such events, it is essential to provide corporate training that accompanies these new business systems. You can create demos and tutorials for these new tools so that your team can review these procedures.

During mergers and acquisitions

The best way to remedy this situation is to hold standard training for the entire team regardless of their job duties or experience levels. What should follow next is a personalized plan that assists them in specific tasks if needed.

Some other tips to avoid performance lags

• Identify the cause of productivity retention. It might be coming from a single manager, department, or source.
• Set performance expectations from the very first. Let employees know what is expected of them.
• Reiterate your expectations continuously. Your employees should not only know their goals but also how to get there.
• Maintain high employee engagement. Employees tend to be more productive when working in a positive environment and are engaged with quality tasks.
• Create recognition programs. Recognizing the contributions of the staff is an effective way to boost their productivity.
• Get a training provider. Authorized training providers can help you implement performance coaching and help your employees learn on the job.

CloudThat offers customized employee training and development programs that can Increase your business ROI without burdening your training budget.