Ensuring employees are properly trained is challenging for any business, but especially challenging for small businesses that don’t have a Training and Development Manager. Here are our three tips for creating a successful team training program!
Establish a Training Routine
Determining the material you want to cover is the first step to developing an annual training program. Some topics can be consistent yearly, but others may vary. Before getting started, familiarize yourself with the training requirements for your business. For example, some state and federal laws require businesses of a specific size or industry to perform annual training.
State/Federal Required Training
- Sexual Harassment Training
- Safety Training (Emergency Action Plan, Personal Protective Equipment, Hazard Communication, First Aid)
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Training
In addition to the required training sessions, you may want to consider trainings like:
- Sales Training
- Customer Service Training
- Performance Management Training
- Compliance and Ethics Training
- Data-Security Training
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The possibilities are endless! But don’t forget, not every person in your company will need to complete the same training.
Once you know the training topics you want to cover, determine the appropriate frequency level. Once a month or once every other month is usually a manageable frequency for business companies and training coordinators. Start with fewer, more infrequent training sessions to get your team used to the time dedicated to professional development. During this time, you can use each training as a learning opportunity and make small adjustments to how you share information or institute the training.
Dedicate Time to Team Training
Create and share your planning schedule with your team. If possible, schedule a dedicated time for each team member to complete the training. This will increase the likelihood that people will complete the training and that you won’t have conflicting schedules to compete with as the dates get closer.
When sharing the training program with the team, also share the training objectives. For some training sessions, the objective might be to fulfill a state requirement. However, we still recommend sharing this, so the team knows what to expect to learn and can get excited to attend. For others, like sales training, the object could be to increase sales of Product A from $30,000 monthly to $50,000 monthly. Be as specific as possible to help people understand the importance of the training.
Use Qualified Trainers
Many people try to complete all training sessions by having employees (usually the person responsible for HR execution) run them. This might not be a bad idea if you have people on your team with the right specialties and qualifications. For some companies, outside assistance may be beneficial.
Innereactive’s President, Samantha Toth, specializes in sales and marketing training. Let us help you create custom training programs specific to your industry to help your team sell better and sell more! Our team is also capable of helping you establish a customized annual training program, complete with team training materials, schedules, and even recommendations for training topics or qualified trainers.
Ready to create a team training program to lead your business to success? We are excited to help!
Heather Morrison
Heather is the VP of Operations at Innereactive and we are lucky to have her. She has over five years of experience running an HR department and enjoys helping businesses like yours find solutions to their HR needs.