The most effective forms of employee development tend to happen on the job—in the actual workplace. Being in a work environment brings focus and seriousness to the training process, and also emphasizes the practicality of it. Employees who learn while they are at work get to see exactly how their learning will impact their performance.
With that said, on-the-job training comes in many different forms. What’s best for one company may not be the best for yours, but it is important to know some of the options available to you.
As far as on-the-job training methods, there are a few that tend to be especially noteworthy; consider adding all of them to your corporate training toolbox!
The Best Ways to Conduct On-the-Job-Training
Mentorship programs. Mentoring involves a one-on-one transfer of ideas, perspectives, and skillsets between a more seasoned employee and a younger or newer one—and as such, it can be enriching and paradigm-shifting for both! Allow your employees to sharpen each other through a mentorship program.
In-house seminars. In-site seminars and workshops tend to be more effective than off-site ones; bring in a trainer or simply sit down for a full team webinar, then have a forum to openly discuss the new skills and ideas shared and how they might impact your workplace.
Brown bag lunches. Offer to buy your team lunch in exchange for a lunch-time seminar or presentation—something relatively casual that will nevertheless encourage employees to focus on a new skill or concept.
Coaching. Never underestimate the significant role that managers can play in shaping their employees, reviewing their performance and offering avenues for improvement. This type of feedback doesn’t have to be corrective; it can also be educational.
Shadowing. Let one employee follow and observe another employee for a day, or even just for a couple of hours, then do vice-versa. This can be a great way to help employees appreciate one another and understand how they all fit into the team dynamic.
Voluntary book clubs. Invite interested employees to join you in reading a book about leadership or management, then discussing it over lunch—a great way to encourage enrichment while also identifying some of your more committed employees!
Promotion. Promoting your employees to positions of greater responsibility is one way to force their hand—basically requiring them to learn new skills or else crash and burn!
Invest in training for your team today—in whatever ways you feel would be most effective!