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Does corporate training, in-house or outsourced, really deliver value? The answer depends on how learning activities fit into the overall culture and infrastructure. Focus on the needs of adult learners in general and your teams in particular to get the most out of tight training budgets. Here are six tips.
Learning content must be relevant: when staff believe that learning is related to their own success on the job, time spent building the skills and knowledge simply makes sense.
Methods promoted in training must fit the workplace. Are there evaluation procedures, approval or budgetary constraints that would make the new approach difficult to implement?
Learning new ways demands being open to making mistakes. Make sure that there is a necessary space in time to allow staff to gain experience, confidence and build new habits.
Communication is critical. Create feedback loops so that you know how the transition is going and staff know how to assess their own progress and learn from practice.
Throughout the training and implementation process, remember that adult learners are...adults! Designing lessons and feedback mechanisms to suit the specific audience requires knowing that audience well.
Invite learners to be a part of tailoring content to the reality they know best--their workplace. You'll gain on two levels. Firstly, any need to tweak the process or learning to reflect how the workplace actually functions can be brought out early. Secondly, by becoming part of the development process, staff see relevance directly and build a vested interest in the achievement of collaboratively shaped learning goals.
