For almost every position, a certain degree of education is necessary. Through this, employers teach new hires how to perform their tasks. Training effectiveness is key to avoiding mistakes and frustration. It is also crucial to ensure people understand and follow standard procedures. How can you make sure this education process is successful?
Why do people forget the information they learned?
It happens to all of us, we go to a class, and not long after it, we can’t remember most of it. The Ebbinghaus or Forgetting curve explain that situation. The forgetting curve shows how information is lost over time. Most of it is lost right after the training. If people retention is affected over time, something needs to change in how we train our employees.
What can improve training effectiveness?
There are several things that we can do to improve training effectiveness. While designing the training, factors such as the age composition of the target population and preferred ways to learn will determine the training format and curriculum.
Gen X members prefer a structured environment that includes some lectures and small group activities. They value face-to-face classes and interaction and collaboration. On the other hand, Gen Y feels comfortable learning using digital options. This generation feels good with hybrid training, which combines in-person with digital options.
Similarly, Gen Z employees value some degree of face-to-face training. However, they still prefer electronic self-learning experiences. Millennials are not interested in the in-person training. They prefer mobile device-based training to any other option. This is because the option provides flexibility to learn whenever and wherever they want. In addition, it caters to their visual and auditory needs.
The length also affects training effectiveness.
A few hours of lecture is not the best way to learn, regardless of your preference. The best way is to receive small bits of information at a time. Then, practice or use that information to test your learning. The more you practice, the more you learn.
A test is good for checking knowledge regarding one subject, but nothing is better than hands-on experience. It is better to reinforce training with a refresher course or review before moving on to the next piece of training.
A good learning experience comes with clear, relevant, and concise information. Interactive experiences are better for learning. However, the best training design has the learning goals and the audience’s needs in mind.
