Do you need corporate training solutions? Contact us.



Why Training and Development shouldn’t be treated as a onetime event

Employee training and development is beneficial to both the employee and the organisation in endless ways. While the benefits of training and development are widely known, many organisations fail to recognise that effective training and development is not a onetime event. At any given time, an occasional training session offered to employee will be effective, but only for a short period of time.

The best skills and long lasting skills are acquired when training has strategic intent and is made continuous. Regular training is a worth the investment for the organisation as it imparts and builds long lasting skills that play a huge role in organisational effectiveness and employee performance. When planning for quarterly activities and budgets, companies should remember to slot in various training sessions based on organisational needs and gaps in employee’ skills.

5 Reasons why training should be continuous

Here are five reasons why training initiatives should be a continuous and well-thought out effort:

1. Practice makes permanence

People retain information better the more they are exposed to it. When people learn new skills and practice them continuously, they gain expertise in the area of training. It is through repetition that a skill is mastered. The human mind forgets fast and continuous training ensures material remains fresh in the trainee’s mind. Research by Panopto, showed that people forget 90% of training material in just 6 months.

2. Improved morale, productivity and job satisfaction

Consistently trained employees become conversant with the task at hand and are more likely to achieve the desired results in performance. They gain confidence that they are equipped with the right information and skills needed to get their work done. As a result, the employees are more motivated, perform effectively and derive more satisfaction from their work. This is likely to improve your employee retention rate as well.

3. Keeping up with the changing market environment

Dynamic market environments and a rapidly changing economy makes it essential and to update the skills of the employees on a regular basis in order to stay competitive. This is especially the case with technological advancements whereby employees may need to keep upgrading their skills so that they do not become obsolete. For example, before 1998, there was no Google and before mid 00s, there was no YouTube or social websites. Now, it is beneficial that all employees be aware of digital advancements and be equipped with some skills on how to use digital media.

4. Identify loopholes

It is through regular training that weak links are identified and addressed. Every training needs assessment conducted helps identify shortcomings and loopholes in employee performance and their causes. As a result, remedial training is organised. Regular assessment and training therefore ensures that shortcomings are caught in time and performance is not affected negatively in the long run. A well-trained workforce is built to deal hitches when they come along at the workplace.

Nurturing and retaining talent

As mentioned earlier, continuous training and development makes employees feel valued and more satisfied with their job. A study by Paychex showed that feeling unappreciated is one of the reasons employees leave a company (52%) as well as lack of skills development (29%). When a company has the intention to retain its best talents, continuous training and development is crucial. Further, it equips them to seek challenge and undertake more activities as 29% of employees are said to leave employment due to lack of intellectual challenge at their job.

Evidently, continuous training and development is not only beneficial to the employees but to the organisation. Which organisation wouldn’t want to retain the best talent and the most satisfied and highly productive employees?

No Comments