Training your staff

Training methods to fit your business

Guide

An outline of some methods your business could use to help train your staff, including their advantages and disadvantages.

Training method	What it involves	Advantages	Disadvantages
Coaching	By talking through a problem or task with a coach/manager, employees can arrive at a solution or better method of working	Cost-effective if done in-house Specific to your business' needs	Coach/manager needs coaching Can be time-consuming
E-learning	Employees follow courses online	Employees teach themselves at their convenience Low cost	Courses tend to be general rather than specific to your business' needs
Evening classes	Training through classes held in the evenings	No disruption to employees' work	May disrupt work-life balance of employees Employees may resent having to attend classes in the evening and may not turn up
Workshops	A group of employees train together under the supervision of a trainer - typically involves explanation, examples, trying out the skill or method, reviewing what happens, and considering developments and alternatives	Employees practice solving problems	Time-consuming - typically takes at least half a day, if not more May be disruptive to your business if many employees attend at the same time Can be expensive if you send many employees to workshops
Study leave	Employees are given paid leave to attend courses and attain a recognised qualification	Both the business and employee benefit Can be a good recruitment incentive Tax relief may be available on cost of course	May be difficult to decide who is eligible
Induction	Formal or informal way of helping a new employee to settle down quickly in the job by introducing them to people, the business, processes etc	Can be formal or informal Low cost Focused on new employees and those starting new roles	May take up large part of manager's time if many new people start at the same time
Job shadowing	One employee observes another employee going about their job	Low cost Specific to your business/their role
Mentoring	A more senior person typically supports an executive/manager/director by providing advice, support and a forum for discussing problems	Provides personal development Low-cost	Limited to more senior employees For mentoring to be effective, the personalities and experience of mentor and employee need to be complementary
Networking/ seminars	Employees attend a seminar on a specific topic - this can be in-house, at an industry event or organised by a training specialist	Useful way of getting a lot of information over to a large audience At industry events and at seminars organised by training specialists, employees can talk to their peers as competitors/partners	Employees may be unable to discuss specific problems in front of rivals Retention of information may be low if there is a lot of information to convey to employees
Distance learning	Employees train through courses devised by educational institutions (eg Open University), but are not required to attend traditional classes	Increasingly web-based Employees can learn at their convenience	Courses tend to be general rather than specific to your business' needs
Simulation/ role-playing	Typically employees in a particular department (eg sales) come together to take on roles to help work through possible scenarios (eg customer complaint)	Employees learn by doing and are prepared for possible situations at work Specific to your business Can be led by a manager