Delivering the most effective training for the workforce is a serious challenge for many companies today.
Why?
All too often we hear about companies who are experiencing dismal engagement rates and poor results from their current training methods—so that’s a great place to start looking. If you want to make the most of your workforce, you should always be looking for ways to improve the training experience for your learners.
One way to improve the learning experience for your people is to group them into small teams during the education process.
Here are a few reasons why this is still such an important thing to do:
Better idea generation.
When your employees work together in small groups then they have better opportunities to discuss the project at hand. This discussion will naturally create more opportunities for ideas to flow and to be shared between the group. Think about it: it's certainly easier to be creative when you have a few people around to bounce your ideas off of.
On the other hand, when you’re learning on your own then you are only getting exposure to your own ideas about the particular project. You don't have the advantage of additional perspectives from your teammates and this limits your ability to find solutions when confronted with learning-based problems.
Gaining from other experiences.
When approaching a learning objective alone you can only evaluate things based on your own experience and limited exposure to that experience of others. However, when you are learning within a small group you are benefiting from the experience of those who you are working with as well.
These individuals may come from different backgrounds and they may have been exposed to business environments that you have never been a part of. This collection of varied experiences makes it much easier to find solutions to learning-based problems.
You benefit from better support.
An organization is only as strong as its weakest link. When you train your personnel to work in small teams, then each individual is able to get support from those they are working with. This means that your learners can take more risks, gain more insight, and benefit from the support and encouragement of the rest of the team.
When you are working on something alone then you are like a castaway on a deserted island. It can be quite lonely and lead to self-doubt, which ultimately ends up with the employee staying within their safety zones.
This is a problem when you want to increase productivity. When you put people together in small groups then everyone is able to bring the group up to a higher level of accomplishment.
More repetition=better recall.
Working together in small teams means that ideas will be repeated within the group. Some individuals will grasp the concept quickly, while others will need to be exposed to the ideas multiple times before the process truly sinks in.
By asking your learners to work together in groups you are ensuring that ideas will be repeated within the group. This means that everyone will be better equipped to recall the information that they are learning.
You can identify potential leadership talent faster.
How often do you get the opportunity to identify potential leadership talent within your workforce? When you put your learners together into groups then you will be able to evaluate their performance and quickly identify those who have a talent for leadership. These individuals can be promoted and help you grow your business faster, without bringing in outside resources. We have discussed the advantages of promoting from within before, and this is an easy way to find candidates.
Simulations are more effective.
Simulations are one of the most powerful ways for you to reinforce the concepts that you have presented to your learners. While computer-based simulations are certainly efficient, there are several areas where real-life simulations might be more effective. Sales teams, for example, can practice their sales presentation skills within their groups and get real-time feedback on their strengths and weaknesses. The same goes for customer service departments and many other departments within your organization.
Learners gain valuable feedback from the other team members.
Feedback is critical when practicing something for the first time. While it’s certainly helpful to gain feedback from administrators and instructors, some of the most valuable feedback can come from others within the same or similar positions.
By placing these individuals into smaller groups you are giving them the opportunity to communicate with each other and help each other with feedback. Each individual may see different opportunities for improvement that may have been missed if you had someone working solo.
Your training strategy has a direct impact on your profits. If your workforce is not getting effective or engaging training then you are missing out on a key component of growing and maintaining your competitive edge.
There are several different proven strategies for improving your training processes, but a great place to start is by placing your learners into small groups.
If you are looking for resources to help you train your staff in everything from compliance to communication, visit the Go1 Marketplace today. We have thousands of free and paid resources to help you.
