Did you know that effective training can act as a recruitment tool? People want to learn. Learning can make a job more interesting and fulfilling, which can result in better performance. For organizations, knowledge sharing creates greater flexibility and belonging. The return of quality training is worth the investment.

Yet Gartner says 70 percent of employees haven’t mastered key skills for their jobs. Of those poorly trained employees, 40 percent quit after one year.

You need not just any training program, but an effective one.

But how do you design an effective manufacturing staff training program?The creation process can be difficult, especially for those who have never done it before. With these eight tips, you can design an effective staff training program that will open networking opportunities for your company at International Fastener Expo and beyond.

Quick Takeaways:

• Investing in quality training helps boost staff performance.
• Your staff training program should align with business goals.
• An evergreen program is well documented, measured, evaluated, and improved.
• An attractive, creative training initiative is more effective in keeping employees engaged.

8 Design Tips for a Staff Training Program in Manufacturing

Designing a staff training program in manufacturing takes time and strategic thinking. The following steps lay the groundwork for an evergreen training system to incorporate at your at your company.

1. Analyze the Problem

Before creating the program, identify the problem the training will fix. Do recruits need job-specific skills? Are you implementing a new manufacturing process or raising awareness of an ethics problem? Asking these questions will determine why the training is necessary.

2. Set Training Goals

Next, understand what employees lack. Do they need knowledge of a specific process, essential skills, or diversity and inclusion awareness? Whatever the needs, set goals to meet them. Pair your goals with key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the program’s success. Ultimately, the training program should always support business goals.

3. Determine an Appropriate Type of Training

The type of training you employ will depend on the needs of your employees. Understand their learning styles and the resources they have available, such as mobile devices. Then choose a format that will best deliver the training materials:

• Written materials
• Video webinars
• Virtual training
• One-on-one or instructor-led sessions
• Online courses

4. Appoint an Effective Program Manager

A program needs an instructor, whether that is you, one of your best employees, a consultant, or a professional from outside the company. In any case, the instructor you choose must be competent. That may seem obvious, but without an expert teacher, the training will fail.

5. Create the Training Program

Once you have determined these fundamentals, you can plan its design. First, set learning objectives that are clear, achievable, and measurable and align them with business goals. Then convey actionable, engaging content is up to date and relevant. Convey information in a way that resonates with employees while being simple enough. Finally, break down tasks into smaller, more digestible pieces and keep the training short – boredom kills learning. Short breaks also allow the material to sink in so your workers understand it more fully.

6. Market the Program

Just because your training is ready doesn’t mean your employees are ready to learn. You must market it. Consistently advertise its arrival. Use stories to get employees excited about it so they can give their best when they start learning. Employees must care about your project to invest effort in it. What value does your training offer? How does that benefit them? When your employees want to learn, they will learn more effectively. That’s good for business.

7. Implement, Measure and Document Progress

When your employees are ready for the new program, implement it. Do not simply watch from the sidelines, however. Remember the KPIs you set in Step 2? Use them now to measure employee performance before and after training. Also measure the effectiveness of the program. What scores are employees earning? Are they enjoying it? Get employee feedback. Document everything, too – a written summary provides a clearer path to improvement.

8. Evaluate and Improve

Don’t stop at implementation. Evaluate your KPIs to determine what went well and what did not. Did employees fail the training? Why? Were the tasks too difficult, or do you simply need to rethink your workforce?

Also evaluate the training’s impact on employee performance. Did it produce the kind of results worthy of an industrial products show? Beyond that, did the employees enjoy the program? A successful program achieves what it set out to achieve.

After analysis, change the unsuccessful aspects of the training and leave the rest alone. The point of an evaluation is to improve the training so that future learners will benefit even more from your hard work.

3 Ideas for Creative Training Initiatives

Your training initiative might be successful once, but will it last? Innovation will make your training initiative evergreen. Here are some ideas.

1. Give It a Theme

Themed learning is always more interesting. Come up with your own theme or attach the company’s brand to the training and incorporate the company’s mission statement and values into the content. Is there a symbol or mascot that represents your company? Use it to give identity to the program.

2. Encourage Collaborative Learning

People are valuable resources. Ask high-performing workers to help you teach. Implement a mentorship program to help employees learn more and bond more deeply. Pair senior workers with fresh graduates, men with women, and executives with interns to bridge gaps in age, ethnicity, and job position. By teaching each other, employees learn valuable communication skills that improve your company long-term.

3. Make It Engaging

Do more than designing a training program. Create an experience. Make it interactive by allowing learners to participate and practice. Make it rewarding by adding incentives, learning points, or an achievement system. At the end of the training, ask for feedback so employees feel part of its success.

Demonstrate Your Staff’s Training In Manufacturing

With all the fundamentals you need to design an effective training program in manufacturing, you can begin. Imagine, for a moment, the course’s success: An efficient workplace filled with satisfied, productive employees who have mastery over their jobs. What is the next step after seeing results from your successful training program? Putting them on display for all to see. Attend the International Fastener Expo 2021 to demonstrate your staff’s training by putting your brand in front of over 5,000 attendees.