The Importance of Continual Training and How a Performance Review System Can Help

We are all familiar with the classic model of training: you get a new job, you go through an on-boarding process, you move into your permanent role, and your performance eventually starts to slip as you get bored or begin to disengage. It’s a classic cycle seen in organizations throughout all industries. While it may seem too easy, one change can help keep your workforce engaged: Dedication to continually training your employees. Here are three huge ways that training can ensure you have an engaged staff that is performing at its highest level.

Expectation Alignment

One of the biggest contributors to workplace frustrations is the lack of clarity around performance expectations. Both managers and employees like to understand what is expected of them in the workplace so that they have clear vision for what it means to be successful in their role. Committing to continually training your employees will help ensure that those expectations are constantly reinforced in the organization, and constantly evolving as the business shifts with updated technology or trends. Implementing a performance review system is a great way to track the success of training and keep your expectations aligned. Think of continual training as a way to have a conversation with your employees about their role, how it continues to evolve, and how they can be the most effective at their job, all while teaching them the tools they need to be the best at their position.

Productivity and Efficiency

Striving to be the most efficient and productive workforce possible is fairly universal among organizations. While it’s good to strive for productivity and efficiency, the role that training plays is rarely addressed. How can you expect your employees to be productive if they are not current or proficient in all the tools that help them do their job? We know that work styles, skills, technology, and work structures shift over time, so organizations should be committed to teaching their employees the things they need to succeed in an ever-changing work environment. Whether it be a new software tool or a new workflow, without training your employees on what has evolved, you are relying on your employees to teach themselves — and leaving productivity gains and efficiency to luck. Further, you can inadvertently create a feeling of frustration when employees are unsure about how to manage the change that is taking place in their position and what that means to them in the long run.

Employee and Manager Satisfaction

The frustration of having a position where you feel lost, or disengaged, is commonplace among employees and managers who have been with an organization for a longer time. Often, employees will shift from being an active, high-functioning performer with a proactive approach to projects to one that simply manages to get the most critical work completed in a timely manner. Continually training your employees can provide a way to remedy that employment fatigue. When employees and managers are provided with the skills, support, and tools to complete their jobs, they are often more satisfied and less likely to disengage. Ensuring that your employees’ training needs are met will allow you to constantly expand the boundaries for what they are able to accomplish and will lead to a higher level of satisfaction among your employees and managers.

The bottom line is that just like in most areas of life, learning is central to success. If you commit the time to continually train your workforce, you can be sure that your expectations are aligned, productivity and efficiency are consistently being addressed, and satisfaction among your staff will be higher. Continuous learning supports the expansion of skills and an overall increase in knowledge that will keep your workforce engaged and performing at its highest level.