Employee training is one of the most important business investments that can set you up for success. For best results, your trainers will need the right tools and skills that drive productivity and ensure the maximum effectiveness of your employee training course. Take a look.
Depending on the size of your business and your workforce, employee training can turn out to be a big investment. The past few years have seen an increasing focus on employee development, but the steep price often deters smaller business owners from pursuing it.
If you want to get the most out of employee training at the lowest possible price, you’ll need to make smart decisions. You’ll need to invest in trainers who have the right set of skills, and you’ll need to find effective online training software solutions that help you cut costs.
Continue reading to find out why employee training is so important for a business, and what skills and tools you should consider.
Importance of employee training
Employee training can be of great value both to you and your employees. By investing in it, you’ll succeed in:
- increasing employee satisfaction
- improving your employee retention rates
- enhancing productivity
- boosting your bottom line
Over 79% of those looking for a job say that an employer must offer formal training programs to their employees. 37% of them would leave their current positions if they weren’t offered development opportunities.
If you want motivated and satisfied workers, you need advanced training programs.
By ensuring employee satisfaction, you’ll also ensure higher retention rates — happy employees have no reason to leave their present company.
By investing in developing your employees’ skills, you’ll exponentially enhance their productivity. They’ll be armed with the right skills and knowledge that will help you push the business forward. With more skilled workers, greater productivity, and a lower turnover rate, you’ll drive more profits and improve your bottom line.
There are many ways you can invest in your team, but with the right employee training solutions, your return on investment (ROI) will be the greatest.
Rise of online training software
Generally, your business would have to spend an excessive amount of money on employee training. You’d need to arrange a classroom, send employees to seminars, buy courses, pay for their transportation, cover the expenses of trainers and teachers who need to come to your office, etc.
Most of these expenses and inconveniences can be eliminated with online training software.
You can create a virtual classroom where your employees can attend lessons over their phones or PCs. Lecturers and trainers can offer assistance online. All course materials can be easily developed and adapted to the needs of each learner.
The e-Learning market is expected to be worth over $300 billion by 2025, and this growth will result in increasingly cheaper training solutions and increasingly better online training software. Employee training has already become affordable for businesses of all sizes, so you can make use of advanced solutions regardless of your budget.
Tools to use in employee training
There are various learning management systems (LMSs) and online training software at your disposal. When looking for an LMS that drives results, you shouldn’t only focus on its price, but on the features you’ll get from it.
The most important features to look for include:
- course creation tools
- audio and video tools
- gamification
- virtual classroom
- instant feedback
- collaboration tools
- live chat
The following are some of the top online training software tools that are affordable and effective. They can ensure the success of your training programs. You can integrate them into your existing employee development plans and use them for both your in-house and remote workforce training.
ProProfs training maker
ProProfs LMS offers most of the features that your trainers will need to cut the time it takes for your employees to master essential skills. There are over ten million users worldwide, and the software supports 70+ languages. It has a library of countless professional tests, quizzes, and training content.
The software is easily customisable to suit a company’s specific needs, and you can scale your training programs up and down as needed. Some of its most useful features include:
- quizzes
- surveys
- knowledge base
- flashcards
- testing & assessments
- brain games
- training tools
This LMS is suitable for educational institutions and companies of all sizes.
Image: Unsplash
iSpring suite
iSpring Suite is a comprehensive tool that’s compatible with a multitude of different LMSs and can be easily implemented into any existing system that you may have. It has a user-friendly interface and virtually no learning curve, making it a good choice if you have employees with limited computer skills.
This tool offers a variety of useful features:
- animation
- audio recording
- sound editor
- dialogue simulation
- interactive assessments
- interactive quizzes and more
The tool can be integrated with cloud solutions to make collaboration easier, and it’s compatible with most devices. It’s often used to enhance the learning experience of the remote workforce.
SmarterU
The customer base of SmarterU consists mainly of freelancers, small and medium-sized businesses, and public administrations. The platform can, however, support up to 10,000 learners, so it can also be a good choice for large enterprises.
This LMS is packed with a variety of different features that enhance the employees’ learning experience:
- course history
- predefined certification templates
- built-in authoring tools
- personalized curriculums
- attendance tracking
- automated report scheduling and more
SmarterU allows users to gain insight into their performance, which can prove to be of great value to the trainers. They’ll find it easier to determine individual learner’s strengths and weaknesses, and ensure that everyone masters each part of the course before proceeding to a new content creation brief.
Electa live
Electa Live is a more specialised type of LMS that primarily provides users with the ability to create a virtual classroom. With cross-platform support for the virtual classroom, anyone can access the course material from any device.
Some of its most distinguished features include:
- screen sharing
- annotation tools
- file-sharing
- session recording
- interactive whiteboards
- breakout rooms
- online polls
Users can schedule live lessons and can even attend courses created by others, making this tool great for networking as well as learning.
Scribe
- Unlimited, auto-generated step-by-step guides
- Customisable text and steps
- Add alerts, tips, GIFs and more
- One-click sharing
- Universal updates
- Easy embed and several integrations
- Customisable images (with Pro)
- Auto-redaction for sensitive information (Pro)
SkyPrep
SkyPrep is an all-encompassing tool that allows you to optimise your employee training courses. It has a somewhat smaller user base, with approximately 500 companies around the world, but the number of users is growing by the day.
As one of the top online training software solutions, SkyPrep boasts some important features:
- content creation
- content tracking
- assessments
- instructor-led training
- certification creation
- gamification and more
This LMS can be useful for employee onboarding, upskilling, and even customer training. It’s easily customisable and quite intuitive, making it truly user-friendly.
Docebo
Docebo has a long history and a great reputation. Established back in 2005, it’s garnered an impressive user base, with companies such as Uber, Starbucks, and Denny’s being some of its most loyal customers.
The platform is a bit more informal, providing on-the-go learning opportunities rather than formal training classes. It’s available both for PCs and smartphones, but the majority of users opt for mobile learning because of its convenience.
Docebo offers these features:
- course creation
- grade books
- live event scheduling
- test engine
- leaderboards and more
If you have an informal business culture and want to encourage your employees to learn in their own time and at their own pace, Docebo might be a good choice.
Skills a trainer must master
Besides great tools, you need great trainers with the right skills if you want to boost your employee training programs. Your trainer should make it easier for your employees to master new topics, and should ensure that everyone’s performing as expected.
While it’s important for a trainer to be proficient in whatever course they may be teaching, some additional skills that you should look for are as follows:
- excellent communication skills
- basic computer skills
- research skills
- good time management
- collaboration
- organisational skills
A trainer well-versed in these skills will be a productive mentor who can help your employees master even some of the most challenging topics.
In Summary
All of the online training software solutions discussed above have convenient plans and pricing that shouldn’t put a dent even in the most limited budget. The tools they offer can work well for any company culture and environment, and can provide personalised learning experiences that ensure that no employee falls behind.
By combining the right tools with trainers possessing the right skills, you’ll boost your ROI and enjoy many of the benefits that skilled employees can bring.
About the Author
Angela White is an ed-tech enthusiast with a passion for writing for the consumer market in the areas of product research and marketing using quizzes and surveys. Having a knack for writing and an editorial mindset, she is an expert researcher at a brand that’s known for creating delightfully smart tools such as ProProfs Quiz Maker.
