The Ultimate List of Effective Employee Training Methods

By
Juliet Luciol
March 23, 2023
Updated
September 19, 2023
Photo credit
Discover top methods for employee training to help improve your team's workplace performance and profitability. This guide offers training techniques to develop employee skills and knowledge.
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Introduction

Businesses are increasingly investing in training and development for their employees. Not only is it an investment in the employee's success, but also an investment in your company's success. While it's essential for employee training to be engaging, it can often feel monotonous for employees who have been with a company for a long time.

There are many ways to design effective employee training to keep things fun and interesting while covering the basics. That's where using tools or building a database comes in. By incorporating these tools into your employee training programs, you can improve consistency, scalability and flexibility.

This blog will explore the different methods of training employees and highlight the benefits of using tools or building a database as part of these methods. It will also introduce Scribe and its Pages feature, showing how to use them to create effective training materials (like training manuals) and improve employee training programs. Finally, It will provide tips and best practices for employee training.

Different training methods

Classroom training

Classroom training is a standard employee training and development method conducted by a trainer or instructor. It can occur in a classroom or virtual environment. Employees are required to attend all training courses or module sessions to receive certification.

‎Classroom training can effectively train employees because it allows instructors to get feedback from participants and provide immediate feedback on their performance. However, it’s expensive and time-consuming for employers because it requires instructors and facilities.

On-the-job training

On-the-job training involves one person or more observing another perform a job and offering feedback as needed. In some cases, observers may guide the process; others may make observations and provide feedback.

OJT can be especially effective when an employee needs to learn new skills quickly. It is also used when new employees do not have the skill necessary to perform their jobs independently but are still required to complete tasks daily.

For example, suppose you own a restaurant and need someone to fill in as an assistant manager while on vacation. In that case, you may send them out with another manager for several hours each day so they can observe how they do things and learn how it works before managing on their own.

OJT can be beneficial because it provides real-world context and allows employees to practice skills immediately after learning them. However, this type of training isn’t always effective because employees may forget what they learned if they don’t practice their skills consistently. We recommend setting KPIs to monitor the success of this training.

Additionally, OJT can take time away from other responsibilities that employees have at their jobs, including performing their tasks.

E-learning

E-learning is an effective way to get new hires up to speed quickly. E-learning involves using online videos, PDF files and other digital media to educate employees on technical skills, business practices and legal policies.

Companies can use e-learning modules as part of onboarding programs or as stand-alone training sessions throughout the year. This method allows businesses to provide employees with an affordable way to learn about topics that are relevant at work but may not be part of their job description.

Coaching & mentoring

Coaching and mentoring are effective ways for businesses to train new hires or help current ones improve their performance on the job. A coach helps an individual achieve specific goals by providing guidance and support.

 An example of this could be a manager who mentors an employee. They can do this to help improve their leadership skills to become more effective in their role or even move up within the company hierarchy.

Benefits of using tools or building a database

Using training tools or building a database can significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of employee training programs. Scribe is a powerful tool that can help organizations create, organize, and share training materials easily and effectively.

There are many benefits associated with using tools or building a database, including:

Increased consistency

Using tools or building a database allows you to create consistency across your company. It means everyone will learn from the same information and follow the same procedures. It also means that if someone leaves the company, another person can pick up where they left off because everything will remain consistent with what they learned before taking over their position.

Scalability

When new hires enter an organization, managers can update the database with training material relevant to each individual's role within the company quickly and efficiently so that training can begin immediately upon hire. This reduces overhead costs associated with creating new materials every time an employee enters your organization. This is because all information remains in one place.

Flexibility

If you have a database of training materials that is accessible to all employees, then they can take advantage of all of the training opportunities available to them. This can happen regardless of their location or role within the company.

The importance of employee training & development for business success

Increased productivity

Employees who receive training are more productive. They know how to use the tools and processes that are most appropriate for their jobs. This increases productivity at all levels of an organization, from executives down to entry-level employees. The goal is that everyone knows what they need to accomplish and how to do it effectively.

Employee satisfaction

Training provides employees with new skills or knowledge, which can improve their self-confidence and boost their morale. This makes them happier at work, improving productivity further as they become more engaged in their jobs.

Retention

Training makes it easier for companies to retain top performers by keeping them up-to-date with the latest developments and trends within their professions or industries. It also helps them feel valued by the company. This is because they have opportunities to develop professionally through ongoing training opportunities such as formal education programs or short courses offered internally by the HR department or external providers contracted. 

Introducing Scribe & Scribe Pages

Scribe is the new way to document and share how-to.

The training screenshot Chrome extension and desktop app enables companies to create and distribute step-by-step guides with annotated screenshots and text.

The platform makes it easy for employees to learn new skills on the job and gives managers real-time insights into their teams' learning progress.

Here's how it works.

Scribe Pages is a feature of Scribe that allows users to create more dynamic and interactive visual process documentation.

With Scribe Pages, you can combine different media types, including images, videos, and animated GIFs, to create engaging and informative training materials.

Key features of Scribe & Scribe Pages

Auto-generated step-by-step guides: Scribe can automatically generate step-by-step guides based on your actions, making creating clear and concise instructions for complex processes easy.

Annotated screenshots: You can add annotated screenshots to your documents to provide visual aids that help users understand the process better.

Multi-media support: With Scribe Pages, you can include various media types, including images, videos, and animated GIFs, to create more engaging and interactive training materials.

Collaboration: Scribe allows team members to collaborate on documents in real time, making it easier to work together to create effective training materials.

Ease of use: Scribe is designed to be easy to use, even for those without technical skills or training.

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How Scribe can help create, organize & share training materials

Creating, managing, and sharing training materials can be a time-consuming process. If you're at a large company with many employees, it's even more challenging to make sure everyone has the same resources available to them.

That's where Scribe can help. They have created a tool to develop training materials through templates. This makes it easier to create quality content without spending hours on each piece of content.

The next step is organizing your content into groups and subgroups called sections. Each section can contain as many documents as you need. The sections are organized into categories known as subjects, comprising one or more sections. This allows you to organize your documents based on their subject matter and make it easier for employees to find what they want.

Once you've created and organized your training materials, Scribe readily shares them with your team. You can share individual documents or subjects with specific team members or groups. You can also set permissions to ensure only authorized personnel can access sensitive or confidential training materials.

Tips & best practices for employee training

With the right training program, you can increase productivity and customer satisfaction while reducing turnover and absenteeism. Here are some tips to keep in mind when designing and implementing your training program:

Identify training needs

First, you need to identify your organization's needs and then set goals for your employees that align with those needs.  

For example, if you want someone on your team to learn how to use social media marketing tools, that’s what you should teach them in their training session. If they already know how to use those tools but want to learn more about effective advertising strategies, then that’s what they should focus on during their training session.

Setting clear goals & objectives

Before you begin your training, make sure you have clearly defined objectives. These objectives should be written down and agreed upon by all parties involved in the training process. This will help prevent any miscommunications later on in the process.

Providing feedback & support

Employees must know their contributions are valued, so providing feedback after each training session is essential. It also helps reinforce the importance of learning new skills.

In addition to regular direct feedback from managers or other employees, employees can develop feedback loops by setting personal goals during training sessions or evaluating their performance against those goals at the end of each session.

Measuring success & evaluating effectiveness

Knowing if your training program is working well or needs adjustments is essential. For example, you can track whether an employee has mastered specific skills or learned enough information during a particular session. Also, evaluate how well your training program works compared to similar programs in other companies to determine if you must make changes before rolling out further initiatives.

Give your employees the best training methods

Hopefully, the information above has given you a good idea of how Scribe and Scribe Pages can benefit your organization.

The training solutions offered by these two products are unlike anything else in their respective markets, so why not try them today? Why not try Scribe for free today?

Ready to try Scribe?

Scribe automatically generates how-to guides and serves them to your team when they need them most. Save time, stay focused, help others.