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Employee Training Development

How to Build an Employee Training Plan?

Employee training development programs can improve employee effectiveness. Link the employee training plan to performance evaluations; and include cross training employees as part of the plan.

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How much do you spend annually on your employee training development program?

Many small business owners answer, "nothing"; they feel they cannot afford the cost of training.

Yet an employee training plan is required in all businesses; in the past 20 years this is even more true with technology and computers being strong drivers of rapid change.

To use your resources (both human and equipment) to the fullest potential, you must train and develop your employees to perform at optimal levels.

Employees need to understand your business process, your business operations, how to run equipment efficiently, how to purchase and manage inventories, how to sell (in a business-to-business or business-to-consumer sales environment), how to manage customer service effectively, and so on.

Additionally, you need to prepare for succession (as people retire, you want trained employees ready to take on new and/or additional responsibilities); and you want to prepare for your own business exit in the future.

As a small business owner, you need to realize the maximum benefit of your technology, and/or your processes, by investing in training your people and by building your employee training plan.

Your Employee Training Development Investment might be:

• your time, or the appropriate individual's time, in providing on-the-job development for new employees;

• developing in-house education programs to teach new skills and new technology;

• working with suppliers to bring in-house education for new equipment and/or new processes;

• developing in-house programs for cross training employees to provide better depth and coverage within the organization;

• sending employees to workshops and/or industry- or skills-specific external training.

Employee Training Plan

I recommend developing an employee training plan and budget that is directly related to your needs.

For example, have you hired straight-from-school employees with little industry knowledge? Or do you have veteran employees for the most part, who need some new technology education or some supported and directed development or coaching from your suppliers. Do you have employees trained only in one functional area (but under-utilized there); can cross training employees help build resources for other functional areas that need support?

Accessing this education is typically relatively easy: for core skills, such as supervising, communicating, team work, customer service, leading, analyzing, and more, you can go to local colleges or business training organizations. For more complex or in-depth employee training development (for example, sales development training), or to improve an employee's work performance you can work with professional education providers to develop a specific plan.

Note: Training needs to be a formal part of an employee's performance evaluation and goal setting. This is even more important if an employee warning form has been issued as part of a corrective action process. Tie the employee training plan to the employee warning form and to performance evaluations.

Assess your on-the-job training needs by doing a thorough review or analysis of the job, the job workflow, the job description and an appraisal or performance evaluation of the employee(s) in the job. What are the employee’s strengths and weaknesses related to the position? Will coaching employees answer the development need or do you need to employ more comprehensive employee development techniques?

Build your plan and budget from this assessment and include it in your annual business financial plan and your small business plan; well trained employees will help you achieve your business growth and plans.

Note: Count internal on-the-job training hours too and include them in your training budget.

Invest in developing your employees, the return on your investment will be significant: exceptional employees!

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Read More:

About Employee Training and Development Policy and Employee Training Methods.

Visit Recruiting Employees and Hiring Questions to find out more about hiring the best-fit employees for your business.

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