Corporate training and knowledge development are now taking front stage in many organizations. Employees, trainers and business managers expect better, faster and more advanced training solutions to meet their immediate business and knowledge demands.
To put it simply, corporate training expectations are the basic demands and requirements that trainers and employees want, in order to maximize their performances. With 90% of business leaders supporting the idea for better and more learning and design programs, meeting the knowledge needs of employees and meeting the training delivery efforts of trainers are now becoming priorities within many businesses.
Corporate training isn’t something new, so what’s the big fuss?
Did you know that 78% of learning and design teams still use traditional instructor-led classroom training programs? 2019 presents the corporate world with new training demands that require more technologically advanced and focused solutions. With shorter time to market (TTM), the immediate adoption of new regulations and policies, quicker dissemination of updates, new features and faster onboarding – businesses are needing better ways to keep up.
By looking at the corporate training needs of both trainers and employees separately, we can gain a better and deeper understanding of what both expect, and how to best maximize the knowledge delivery of trainers and the learning outcomes of employees.
Let’s start by looking at 3 examples of what employees are expecting from their training
1. Employees expect training to be accessible while working – anywhere, anytime and on any device
Man has betrayed his best friend, as the smartphone is now taking 1st place. Employees want to access learning material and knowledge at their convenience. Through on the go and mobile training methods, employees can benefit by receiving important business knowledge on any device, wherever they are and whenever they need it.
The new nature of work allows for more flexible working conditions, meaning that when working from home, in the car or even on the train – knowledge must always be available. Josh Bersin’s (talent and learning specialist) ‘Learning in the flow of work’ theory, is a great example of employee training expectations, as 68% of employees prefer to learn while working. The basic idea is that learning material meets the employee in the middle of their workday.
2. Employees expect training that’s simple and effective
As if ordinary workdays aren’t tough enough. Can you imagine the reaction of sales reps when they receive minimal time to properly learn, understand and sell a brand-new product that had just been released? Or maybe they missed a vital update on an existing product because no one notified them?
The proof is in the platform. Employees want their training to be organized, simple and clear. Today, new technologies and training methods such as microlearning solve this issue by organizing training into bite-sized chunks, that are easy to deliver and measure. Through training platforms that deliver knowledge in a neat, consolidated and organized way, employees can stay focused on what truly matters – the knowledge material itself.
3. Employees expect mesmerizing and interactive training material
Interactive training is a top priority for employees as it keeps them engaged and actively focused. Through features and interactions such as pop up questions, media, video, image and gamification – better business results are achievable, as employees better enjoy their training and feel their knowledge growth.
By making knowledge exciting for employees, it is easier to keep them interested in content that helps them to perform at their best and ultimately drive business results.
Let’s now look at 3 corporate training expectations of trainers
Identifying and assessing skills gaps is the number 1 focus in 2019 for talent development, according to the LinkedIn workplace learning report of 2019. As a general understanding, business knowledge gaps occur when employee knowledge levels are not on par with the knowledge needs of the business. So, how do trainers close such gaps and what are they expecting of their training creation and delivery?
1. Trainers expect to know how much their employees know
Trainers want full visibility on real-time employee knowledge levels in their organization. The ability to track learning – who opened, who read, who understood and by how much. Wouldn’t it be useful to know if all teams are meeting the expected knowledge requirements that allow them to properly perform at their jobs? Or perhaps knowing that teams are aligned with the most up to date business knowledge.
Through a trainer’s ability to access key metrics and results of employee training in real-time, identifying and closing knowledge gaps can truly save businesses from unwanted mishaps and mistakes.
2. Trainers expect to share knowledge with speed and ease
The rapid growth of businesses and technology is forcing companies to quickly adapt and keep up with new knowledge requirements. It is also forcing training departments to create training material even quicker than before. Trainers want tools that enable them to quickly and easily create training material.
Now, L&D free training exists that drastically shortens the training creation process. For example, Enabley’s stream knowledge delivery gives subject matter experts themselves the chance to directly distribute knowledge pieces – cutting out the middleman in L&D departments.
3. Trainers expect clear communication and collaboration channels
Communication is key in today’s corporate age. Trainers want to correspond with each other and employees in real-time, making training no longer a box that is just ticked but a process that continuously offers value to all involved.
Live session, instant messaging and even bot technology can add an extra benefit to the corporate training process, as trainers and managers can keep an eye on employee learning – guiding them when they go off the learning path.
So to conclude…
A business that is fluid in its approach to knowledge delivery can smoothly move alongside changes and updates in the industry – while being ready to adopt new features and technologies as they happen. By continuously expecting more from training platforms and software, both trainers and employees drive the way forward for better training.
