As an employer, you fully understand the importance of training, and of delivering key information to employees in order to improve their knowledge and understanding.
But sometimes it seems as if your staff members simply aren't engaged with your learning and development exercises. And given that you've invested time and money preparing training, with a view to boosting employee performance, this simply won't do.
You can't force your workers to be more naturally engaged and take a greater interest in job-related learning, but there are steps you can do to encourage it.
Here are some of the top tips for securing employee buy-in during training and ensuring your organisation gains maximum value from these sessions:
1. Prepare activities
The inclusion of some form of group exercise or activity, related to the topic in question, can get employees more involved and ensure they remain on task. If workers can have a little fun at the start of the training session, they may be more receptive to the serious points which follow.
2. Create visuals
Rather than simply lecturing the audience, it's worth using visuals - such as a video, slideshow or presentation - to illustrate your points. These can be made available following the session if employees want to refer back to the training for a refresher.
3. Use analogies and metaphors
Particularly when you're talking about complex subjects, it's important to use analogies and metaphors. These help bring the content to life and ensure you deliver the training material in a way people can understand. The aim is to make things simple and interesting.
4. Ask questions
By asking questions to the training participants, you can get them directly involved. Not only does this help them stay on-task, rather than lose their concentration, but it makes the subject matter more memorable following the session.
5. Discuss personal experience
If you're delivering training sessions, you need to give the impression you know more about the subject matter than other people in the room. Discussing your own personal experience gives you greater credibility, meaning everyone will be more interested in what you have to say. Employees need to feel they can actually learn from the trainer.
6. Follow the 'rule of three'
The 'rule of three' is that concepts or ideas presented in threes are more interesting, more enjoyable, and crucially, more memorable. Examples include 'blood, sweat and tears', 'faith, hope and love' and 'stop, look and listen'. The same can apply to business ideas - key points may stick in people's minds for longer if they are written in threes.
7. Prepare handouts
It's always worth providing a handout during training sessions, in order to summarise key information and provide a reference point. Employees may wish to make notes on the paper during the session. If you've used a visual display, ensure this is posted online.
8. Keep things concise
If your training session drags on beyond 30 minutes, there's a good chance you'll start to lose people - in mind if not in body. Employees may get distracted and start thinking about other things, or even agitated if they have important work waiting for them back at their desks.
