According to research published by “Training Mag”, American companies allocated an $87.6 billion budget on training in 2018 alone. These figures are up 59% from the $55 billion spent in 2012 – meaning companies recognize that providing training for their employees is a serious investment. But wrong steps in education are also costing companies dearly: inefficient lessons, forgotten information, irrelevant educators, wasted resources…
You should pay attention to these 4 big mistakes so that the investment you make in your employees does not return to you as a loss.
Neglecting Employee Needs
According to a survey published by the “Association for Talent Development”, 62% of HR managers believe that they cannot meet the training needs of their employees properly. A big reason for this deficit is the neglect of the fact that every employee requires training in different areas and different ways. The generally applied approach of “one size fits all” is particularly problematic when it comes to internal training. For instance, while 65% of people learn better with visual methods, 30% learn better by listening, and 5% identify as “kinesthetic” learners. Laura Lee Gentry, head of talent and learning at Ultimate Software company, says: “Don’t be afraid to ask your employees which learning style they prefer. Listen to what they say, then tailor your program to their needs,” says Laura Lee Gentry, head of talent and learning at Ultimate Software.
According to another research made at the University of Texas, employees are also fond of personalized training. There are two main reasons for this: First, employees feel themselves in control when training is tailored to their needs and goals. Second, instead of being information overloaded, they can receive only the information they need so that they can learn more efficiently.
The best solution that you can apply for personalized training programs is to adopt an online training model. The online training includes a wider range of training topics that are tailored to the requirements of the staff and allows employees to learn at their own pace and at the times of their choosing.
Non-Involvement of Management
According to a study conducted by Motorola on its training courses, when employees received training under the supervision of senior management, every $1 spent by the company had an ROI (return on investment) of $33. However, in training courses where management was not involved, ROI dropped to negative rates. As seen in this Motorola example, although the support offered by the management to its employees is of great importance, many companies cannot figure out how to be involved in training. Research shows that the most productive moments for directors to intervene in internal training are before and after the training. To put it in other words, you can tell your employees what you expect from them before the training starts and ask them to submit a report to you when the training is over. Particularly, feedback is of great importance: 89% of HR managers agree that positive changes occur when employees provide feedback on their training.
Failure to Apply What has been Learned
Your training program may look promising on paper – after all, you have identified the needs of your employees, explained the importance of training to them, and created an effective feedback system. However, research shows that 75% of what is learned is forgotten in as short as 6 days if not put into practice. John Whitmore, on the other hand, thinks that experiencing the things learned one-on-one provides 65% recall. However, according to research by “24×7 Learning”, only 12% of employees apply what they learn in their work.
In his book titled The Accelerated Learning Handbook, Dave Meier mentions about 4 steps. Those steps are as below:
Preparation – Demonstration – Practice – Performance
If you need your training courses to be reflected in the performance of your employees, you should not skip the practice phase. For instance, if you provide your staff with business English lessons, you should make sure that they reinforce what they have learned by speaking business English.
Unenjoyable Training Programs, Reluctant Employees
A report published by the technology company Mettl shows that the biggest challenge companies face when it comes to training is employee reluctance. However, given the enormous impact of willingness to learn on good learning, companies should not ignore this and create training programs that appeal to employees – moreover, employees’ willingness to learn also increases their commitment to their work. Thus, instead of overloading your employees with boring information, you can increase their motivation by preparing training programs that they will enjoy attending. Flexible models that you can create with online training, interactive lessons that can be attended via mobile devices, and gamification (badges, rankings, characters, etc.) will make your training much more enjoyable.
Indeed, all these items we have mentioned above are answers to the question “Why Cambly?”. Cambly provides one-to-one English lessons from all levels with native English-speaking instructors, and because all lessons are taught online, your employees can participate in private lessons anytime, anywhere they prefer. And, since all lessons include English-speaking practice sessions, your employees have the opportunity to practice what they have learned. Moreover, this kind of learning is much more enjoyable, flexible, and interactive than traditional conventional English classes.
Contact our Cambly Corporate Team to learn more about corporate English lessons and take your company one step further.