How to Turn Training into Results

When done correctly, proper training can be converted into very impressive results. And the best part? Translating training into results is fairly straightforward. In many instances, it happens quite naturally. When managers and higher-ups prioritize training effectiveness from the beginning, it has a domino effect that leads to successes across multiple factions.  

Research shows that “in addition to commitment and job satisfaction, continuing professional education enhances employees’ knowledge, skills, confidence, sense of coherence, work performance, and mental health.” Another study found that 94% of employees stated they would stay longer at a company that invested more in ‘staff development’.  

Taking these statistics into consideration, it’s clear that sufficient onboarding and the existence of training opportunities are the best place to start when it comes to the pursuit of positive company-wide results.  

Short-Term Goals of Onboarding and Ongoing Training 

We weren’t kidding when we said that proper training implementation is like a row of dominoes. By investing in employee development, better skill application, workplace learning transfers, etc. your employees will statistically take steps themselves towards more effective training outcomes. Sometimes, without even knowing it. Managers only need to set everything up and then knock down the first domino, so to speak.  

You can do this by focusing on the short-term goals of onboarding and the more immediate training impacts instead of being distracted by the long-term benefits (which will come, don’t worry). Those short-term goals are especially important during the first few months of onboarding new employees and are as follows:  

1. Delivering essential knowledge — Demonstrate the ins and outs of daily work at the company, along with basic overviews of ongoing projects/assignments.  

2. Skill implementation, improvement, and/or development — Make sure the new hire either currently possesses all the technical and soft skills required for them to be successful in the position or are in the process of developing those skills within an agreed-upon timeframe.  

3. Overview of company technology and communication systems — Don’t assume the new hire knows how your company-specific technology works. Even something as simple as the corporate email system might not be second-nature to them.  

4. Outline industry standards, regulations, and best practices — This step is imperative to not only make sure your employees are property trained on all the rules of your industry, but it’s also very important when it comes to avoiding any potential liability issues.  

5. Continue offering training opportunities even after onboarding — In some cases, simply offering professional development programs can save employers “between 40 and 200 percent of an employee’s salary in turnover costs.”  

How Short-Term Goals Translate into Long-Term Results 

If you’ve successfully onboarded your workforce and provided them with ongoing development opportunities, you might be wondering how your efforts will end up translating training into results.  

For starters, businesses that invest in training effectiveness and/or training to performance, can see a boost in retention rates by as much as 52%, a major increase in employee dedication, and 2.5x revenue growth. Ongoing training is also associated with 11% greater profitability.  

Additionally, research from IBM shows that professional skills tend to have a ‘half-life’ of only 2.5 to 5 years. In some sectors, it might even be less depending on how quickly industry-specific technology advances, meaning that your workforce is most likely already in need of some further training.  

These are just a few examples of how better onboarding leads to effective training outcomes, but there are countless others. That said, it’s important for managers to acknowledge and remedy some of the most common pitfalls that can hinder training effectiveness and undermine the very goals they’re working towards.  

Here are some of the more egregious mistakes associated with onboarding and training that you want to avoid at all costs:  

• Scheduling training after work hours or expecting new hires to attend training sessions on their own, unpaid time. This will likely lead to frustration/dissatisfaction at best, higher turnover at worst.  

• Discouraging questions or being unavailable during the first few weeks of employment. 

• Focusing too much on specific skill application as opposed to encouraging new hires to establish their own workflow. 

• Not introducing the new hires to everyone they might be working with (remember, even if they demonstrated extrovertedness during the interview, that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to feel intimidated or insecure once they are in the office.)  

• Putting too much pressure on the potential training impact during the first few months of onboarding. These things take time.  

Other Considerations  

When you combine all the proven benefits associated with better onboarding and employee development, it’s not hard to see how training translates into results. Those results include everything from a stronger, more loyal workforce, lower turnover rates, and better mental health outcomes.  

Given how expensive it is to replace workers and how productivity is directly linked to employee satisfaction then, the additional costs that come from training are well worth the money. These efforts are not only about the bottom line, either—they are also an investment in your workforce, and they should be upheld as the new norm.  

There’s no reason not to make this investment, but if you find yourself working for a company that fails in the basics of training implementation, you might not have much say in the matter—even if you are in a managerial or leadership position. If that’s the case, or if you’ve had bad onboarding experiences in the past, maybe you need a little help with your next job search.  

The expert recruiters at CyberCoders know what questions to ask and what answers are unacceptable. They will match you with a position that offers adequate and ongoing training opportunities, more than fair salaries, and room for professional growth. To learn more and to start investing in yourself, check out our website today!