Learning and Development Challenges: The Top Complaints About Employee Training

1. It Is Not Entertaining

Of course, no one is saying that you have to put together a comedic performance in order to prevent your training from boring your employees. What you could do is be more selective when putting it together.

Pay attention to who is actually presenting or narrating the training. If the trainer has a lack of energy and enthusiasm or isn’t really into the training content themselves, they will transfer that energy to everyone else. You don’t have to have someone with an over-the-top bubbly personality give the training, just have someone who is a little more sociable and knows how to bring personality into everything they do.

Unless you’re doing the training yourself, try grouping your most extroverted and outgoing employees or team members. Have a small meeting and discuss with them that you are looking to have someone train in a way that will keep the trainees attentive and alive.

This is important because if the trainer is giving out a dry vibe, this may suggest that they don’t have any respect or care for the material that they are talking about. This will probably give the trainees the impression that the material is not that important in the first place.

2. The Training Includes too Much Content

Many people have sat through training sessions where the training was a bit too much to handle. A lot of trainers make the mistake of shoving pages and pages of information into training sessions that are too short to fit it all in. An overwhelmed trainee will feel defeated and frustrated with this and blow it all off in turn. 

Instead of cramming in too much information, you should consider spreading out both the training material and the days that the training will take place. Or, if you are creating eLearning, divide the material into multiple modules or lessons. Either way, make sure the material is easily digestible and spaced out enough that learners can actually remember what was covered.

If you find the content will take too long to address, you might consider simplifying your material. Think about what employees really need to know versus things they might already understand from previous training or experience. Also, consider pointing learners to resources outside the training in order to condense the actual session.

Read also: Tips to Avoid Cognitive Overload in Employee Training Programs

3. Training Isn’t Actually Needed

In some work environments, training is filled with fluff that doesn’t convert to any real action. This is one of the biggest reasons why there are complaints about employee training. If you want to get rid of every employee complaint, make sure that you prioritize your training information.

Most trainers receive an employee complaint about training because they feel like they are wasting their time. This feeling of wasted time comes to them more so after the training than during it. If they finish and find that almost none of it was relevant to what they would be doing day to day, more and more employees will come to detest any type of training you try to present to them. They see it as you just mindlessly repeating a bunch of rehearsed stuff that is only being said because you were told to say it.

It is important that the training being delivered actually applies to their job roles and duties within the company. Think about what their jobs will actually consist of on a day to day basis. What information in the training material is relevant to that? What will they almost never use at all during their time working in your company? For the information that is very seldom used but needed in some way, try to inform them of that in the simplest way possible that is quick and easy to comprehend.

If employees complete training and feel that what they have done is not relevant to what they would be doing day to day, they will come to detest any type of training you present to them.

How Can Training Be Improved to Minimize Employee Complaints?

To minimize the employee training complaint, you should first take the time to figure out why employees don’t enjoy training. After that, take the necessary steps to revise your training methods and come up with a method that will be more beneficial to both the trainer and the trainees.

Content is key, and it all comes down to the basics. If you’re using slides or some sort of presentation, make the graphics attractive. Use straightforward vocabulary that is easy to understand instead of corporate jargon.

You can also try setting up some sort of feedback survey for the employees to participate in. This will allow you to get insight on what they think of the training. Also, make it anonymous so they feel more comfortable with giving their opinion.

If you want to make technical advancements to improve your training, eLearning is another great thing to include in the process. Doing this will make your material feel more modern, updated, and entertaining. 

Going the eLearning route has many benefits including:

• Lower Costs

• Effectiveness

• Ability to Suit Everyone's Needs

• Increased Engagement

Read also: Knowing When to Update Your Current Online Training

Conclusion

Consider these tips if you want to improve productivity in your workplace and build better relationships with your employees. If you want to learn more information to better your company with quality training, tour our website or contact our team today!