Every company should have a training and development plan for their employees. But it incurs costs that some companies might not be willing to spend. It’s not a cheap venture, after all. Currently, the training market in the U.S. is worth approximately $109 billion. Hence, companies must carefully research a program before implementing it.
There are countless training and development methods companies can test out. However, those often include traditional activities, like reading long manuals and attending seminars. While those can help employees learn, they might not help them grow, which is the more important objective of training.
Luckily, training and development methods that young employees would love don’t cost a lot. Consider these unique activities and produce a competent and confident workforce:
1. Games
A game-based training method never gets old. Companies usually implement it during a team-building seminar, another activity with a timeless appeal. Games spark employees’ competitive spirit, bring out the best in them, and help them unite.
Managers can also assess their employees’ performance easier with games. It allows them to pick out each of their team members’ strengths and weaknesses without survey forms and the like. If one game unleashes an employee’s persuasion skills, that could be their ticket to the sales department. If the other game brings out someone’s analytical skills, they could be put in finance or accounting.
To determine your own team’s strengths and weaknesses, try a game like Knack. Knack makes its players demonstrate their behaviors in unique patterns. This will allow you to see how your employees express themselves. If someone seems shy, that could indicate they’re well-suited for positions that utilize focus and detail-orientation. If someone is loud and extroverted, they might fit positions that involve meeting different people, like public relations.
2. Job Rotation
Training through job rotation can be a little tricky. Not all employees appreciate changing job titles and tasks at a given time. They might think it disrupts any progress they’ve made from their current positions. On the other hand, job rotation can prevent boredom and give employees a chance to transfer to a department where they shine.
Also, job rotation doesn’t disrupt career progressions. On the contrary, it boosts employees’ skills. When they move around departments or teams, they develop skills that are functional in that particular area. Plus, if someone takes a vacation leave, anyone can fill in for them because all employees know how to do each other’s job.
3. Job Shadowing
Job shadowing is a program in which an “outsider,” who could be an intern or a potential new hire, would observe a company’s daily operations in the field of their choice. For example, if you’d involve a sales intern, they will observe the sales department.
This program will allow you to demonstrate your company’s culture to an inexperienced individual. If the job shadow is a college intern, that person could gain real-world insight into the field they are pursuing. If you invited a job candidate, you’re giving them a chance to test out if they are a good match for your company.
While this isn’t a training program for existing employees, it would train your future employees, allowing you to create a more competent team over time. Job shadowing can also aid in the employer-employee relationship. If the job shadow notices issues in your systems or culture, they can raise them to you, and you’d be given a chance to resolve them.
4. Volunteer Program
Your training and development program should also enhance your company’s social responsibility. When the employees themselves are conscious of the impact of their choices, they’ll do a better job at helping the business reach its corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals.
A Deloitte study has also found that volunteering can help boost employee morale, workplace atmosphere, and brand perception. As a result, productivity will increase.
Volunteer programs also attract the best talent. Since employees and job candidates place a high value on CSR, they’d lean toward companies that support a cause and promote a charity. Moreover, young workers see jobs as a way to express passion, not merely a way to earn money. If a company’s CSR allows them to engage in their passion, they will contribute their skills and talent to that company.
You can use an online corporate volunteering platform to start your volunteer program. It lets your employees choose a cause they’d like to support personally, and your company can choose an organization to make pledges to. The platform also lets you track your donations and the results of your charitable campaigns.
With these unique training and development methods, your workplace will be full of talented, passionate, and competent people. But more importantly, they’d be happy and contented employees.
