ESG Metric: Employee training
Ease of implementation: Medium
Suitable for: All businesses
Suggested functional lead: HR
Summary
The most effective manner to identify the training requested and required is through employee feedback identifying their gaps in knowledge. Training that is developed with employee requests in mind tends to have better engagement and be more efficient in upskilling. The training can be executed either in-house or through an external source, either virtually or in person. It is crucial to tailor the training to specific departments with a clear structure. Consider incentivizing the training to increase turn out and engagement. Once training has been complete, a questionnaire can be conducted to test the employees’ knowledge and ensure application of skills. Lastly, a training session should not be a onetime event. Instead, training should be carried out regularly to promote development, upskilling and retention.
Background Information
Effective and efficient training is beneficial for employee retention as well as sales and overall profitability. According to the Training Industry Report, SMEs have an average annual training budget of just over $200,00. The specific budget will vary depending on business size and sector, however, on average a company will spent 2% of their budget on employee training. An SME typically invests 2 to 5% of an employee's salary budget back into upskilling and training. This may not be viable for all businesses, especially smaller businesses. It is still vital to find a budget for training to ensure employee satisfaction, retention and progression.
Implementation Steps
Gather employee feedback
The most effective manner to identify the training sessions required is through an employee survey. Send out a survey to gather information on what employees want to learn and what skills they want to develop. You can also gather feedback on previous training to improve on aspects of the training that was not received well. This will narrow down what training will elicit the highest attendance rate.
Customize training
Employee training should not be one-size fits all. Instead, training should be tailored based on the profile and skills of the employee. The success of training is dependent on their engagement and motivation, which is predominantly achieved by customized training. Each department requires slightly tailoring of training to make it relevant to their roles. Additionally, each employees learns differently, whether it is through kinaesthetic, auditory or visual methods. Thus, it is crucial to include various methods of learning in all training.
Structure training schedule
Create a structured schedule for training sessions. Set measurable goals and prioritize tasks with an overarching aim. For example, if the overarching aim is to upskill the operations department, prioritise which skill would be most beneficial, i.e. SQL or Python. You could then measure the number of employees currently fluent in the coding language, and compare it to the number of employees post training sessions.
Incentivise
You may want to incentivise your employees by gamifying training or setting up competitions. You can also incentivise training by outlining the skills required for a promotion and incorporating training into progression frameworks.
Implement training
Once you have determined how to customize training for various departments and individuals, you can set up the training. Ensure the sessions are run regularly to promote a culture of learning and to achieve the highest engagement. Whether in person or virtually, the training should engage employees actively with questions and tasks. For both methods, we suggest recording the sessions to be able to re-use material and promote e-learning. This will save time and cost in the long run. The two main methods of training are:
In-house training; where experts in a specific area conduct training sessions for another department. If this is your preferred method of training, be very aware of clear and concise communication. Avoid jargon and long tangents to ensure employees stay engaged. Consider that the training may not be as polished as a professional from an external training source.
External training; where you can hire an external company to give training to your employees. This can be beneficial for new skills required in the company and to learn from expects in their field. However, consider that external training may not be as customized for your specific business.
Set up quiz or scenario-based questionnaire
To ensure the material has been successfully absorbed, send out a questionnaire following training sessions. The questionnaire should take no longer than 5 minutes and should cover the main topic and material discussed in the training.
Ensure application of new skills
Conduct teammate exchanged for employees to practice their new skills developed in the training. It is crucial to monitor whether the training resources prompted users to actually test their understanding within their roles. The more employees use their training, the more effective the training was as the information is stored in their long-term memory.
Offer continued learning
Offer continual training annually, ensuring material is being modified over time from employee feedback. Training should be an ongoing discussion to ensure the most productive outcomes and tools are.