When considering training for employees it is best to be pro-active. That means creating a training plan for each employee or team. You could also start with a training needs analysis and plan your training strategically. Check out my article and video on how to do an employee training needs analysis and download the free worksheet.
When planning training, think of four areas of employee development.
- Job skills such as technical skills or professional skills
- Interpersonal skills such as communicating, listening, presenting, etc.
- Personal development skills such as being responsible, being trustworthy, goal setting, etc,
- Team skills such as leadership, facilitation, problem solving, coaching, confronting
Some of these skills can be combined in one or two types of programs, but training should be ongoing as implementing new skills takes time and refreshment is always a good thing.
Job Skills
These are the essential skills people need to do the job and have had formal education and training in most cases. Skills such as computer programming, machine operation, accounting, human resources etc.
Interpersonal Skills
There are often referred to as people skills. Everyone needs these to greater and lesser degrees and are skills that can be learned and developed through training and coaching. This includes active listening, presenting, negotiating, communicating ideas, confronting etc.
Personal Development Skills
There are skills to develop oneself and become more mature in all dimensions of life. I have explained the dimension of life in detail in this article and video. There are seven dimensions of life and the higher one can function in each of these dimensions the more people can be productive and effective. Personal development skills include goal setting and planning.
Teamwork Skills
These skills like problem solving techniques, facilitating meetings, leadership, presenting solutions to management, consensus building, mutual coaching, giving feedback, conflict resolution, etc.
Some of the interpersonal and teamwork skills can be covered together but not always. For example, a team of customer service need to develop interpersonal skills to deal with all types of people in different situations. So, the focus might need to be there rather than developing teamwork skills. On the other hand, teamwork skills always need to include interpersonal skills.
These skill areas cover the gamut of people development and address the total person. It even covers mental and physical health as this is an integral part of personal development and the dimensions of life. As mentioned, I suggest using my training needs analysis worksheet to start planning your employee training.