
There is a very terrifying fact for employers - at least 40 % of employees receive either poor or no on-the-job training in the first few months of employment. Staff turn-over is expensive. On-the-job training is an investment into your company and into your most important asset, your employees.
On-the-job training is typically designed to help employees gain hands-on experience and knowledge in their workplace. This kind of training requires employees using resources available for them at their workplace and it allows them to learn while integrating into their everyday work environment.
Usually, managers, human resources team members and experienced coworkers provide guidance and training. On-the-job training does not only benefit employers. Yes, a well-trained staff member can increase productivity and profits. But there is much for it.
Every company is unique and has specific requirements. Training your employees on-the-job, may help you get business needs met faster.
It is very important to continuously update your on-the-job training in order to ensure that your employees are up-to-date. This also helps employees to be more committed and to grow their careers with your company. They are also happier and more enthusiastic about their work.
With on-the-job training, you will create highly skilled workers in your company as well as creating a mind set of “Always learning – always achieving”. This pays off big when you need to promote team members into the next level. You will find that you have a skilled and loyal pool of employees to choose from who already know the business. If your company operates in a job market where good employees are scarce, or where it is difficult to retain good employees, the principle of on-the-job training can certainly help.
It is always an attractive add-on benefit for someone who wants to achieve more and increase the chances of getting promoted.
When you have a well-trained team, no one will argue that “This is not my job”. Training will always extend employees abilities beyond a narrow approach of only doing the bare minimum.
Creating a training program is no rocket science, as long as you break it down in smaller steps which are easy to absorb.
The ADDE method is very useful when starting a training program from the beginning:
- Analysis: Assess what your employees need to know in order to successfully do their jobs
- Design: Determine what your on the job training program will look like
- Development: Establish methods, resources and materials that will be in your training program
- Implementation: Decide who/when/how you will implement your training program
- Evaluation: get feedback so you can know if your training met your and your employee’s needs.
About the author:
Tatjana Ahmed is the Director of Housekeeping at the Grand Hyatt, Dubai and Chairperson of the UAE Housekeepers Association.