Gearfuse Technology, Science, Culture & More
There are lots of tried and true approaches when it comes to employee training, but if you really want to be at the forefront of human resources expertise, you need to become acquainted with the most current technology. One of the most recent trends in training is virtual assistants, which is someone who helps you remotely and reports online. While this may sound counterintuitive, since assistants usually work side by side with the boss, these days, so many tasks are happening online that it’s often far more cost effective to hire someone on the other side of the state, or even country, to help out busy executives. Using the latest technology, you can not only find a brilliant assistant, but also become a corporate model in your industry for employee training. Here are a few tips about how to stay ahead of the game and make sure that you give your staff the skills needed to go out and win the day.
- Online Training and What It Means
While some companies may view online training as a pure money saver, the reality is that it can be so much more than that. When you’re developing virtual assistant training, for example, using a provider like Blue Jeans that specializes in this kind of instruction is how you also demonstrate your leadership in this field. You need to maximize the potential of online training no matter who the employee is, whether that means bringing in experts over a camera or simply providing a more comprehensive training for an off-site worker.
- Understanding the Basics
Inc. cautions that one of the most common mistakes employers make while training employees is the attempt to teach traits, rather than teaching skills. For example, you can’t force someone to have good attention to detail, a skill that’s usually in high demand in most workplaces. However, if they have other talents, you can teach them the skills of how to get around an inherent flaw. Not only that, but this is also an opportunity to full comprehend what a person’s strongest skills actually are. Hiring shouldn’t only be about finding the best qualified candidate, but also what unique talents they bring to the table.
You could have a task force comprised of extremely detail oriented, borderline micromanaging personalities, but if you don’t have that creative, free spirit in the mix, the workflow becomes imbalanced.
- Applying the Right Principles
When you’re trying to properly train someone, you need to apply the same basic principles you would to a staff member you’re training in person. For example, if you’re running a new employee orientation session, you might ask everyone to sit down and review a handbook you distribute at the beginning of the training. This might be followed by an open discussion, and then a meet and greet of all the new employees. Some businesses also make new employee training or orientation an entire day, full of team building exercises and other types of activities.
In order to take advantage of the online component of this type of training, though, you need to test it the same way you would as employee training that happens face to face. Entrepreneur advises that in order to determine whether a training is effective, run through it yourself. Take the same tests you’d give your new staff, and sit down in the same session you’d have someone run through. If your own lectures are boring or lack something, then you may want to reconsider your online training tactics. Whether you’re online or in person, the fact of the matter is that you need to test it yourself to see how effective your own approach really is.
- How to Publicize Leadership
Once you refine and establish secure practices in employee training, there’s the question of how to let everyone else know in your industry that you’ve pioneered new ways to get skills delivered to employees. The answer is social media, as well as other inventions of the 21st century. If you want to publicize leadership, then offer classes and webinars to your colleagues in the same industry. Even better to is to webcast trainings and other relevant educational opportunities. The fact is that it’s simple to be a leader in a particular market if you have the time to spare and the resources to host different types of trainings. One excellent approach to becoming a true leader in employee training is to post different opportunities all over industry message boards, memberships, and association websites.
The newest employee training sessions focus on skills, and not static presentations. You want your staff to be able to take the training they receive, go out into the workplace, and apply that newfound knowledge effectively. This is part of becoming a tech leader. Building on top of that concept, you can go even further by employing people who are literally based only online.
