Planning a group training within your company may seem like a daunting task. Organizing professional development for a large number of people is uniquely challenging right now due to social distancing and stay-at-home mandates due to COVID-19. While there may be different roadblocks to overcome, group training offers the chance to provide clear expectations and important information to everyone within an organization at once. Taking the time to train workers outside of the typical onboarding process also indicates employee investment, which can help boost morale and motivation. Here are a few ways to go about planning your next group training.
What Do You Need to Teach?
Before beginning the planning process, be sure that you know exactly what information you want your training to cover. Are you training on new techniques, new procedures, or specific areas of professional development? Outline the main takeaways of the training and use it as a guide throughout the planning process.
After planning the training topic(s), send out a survey to employees to see what they want to learn in the training—this can help you identify knowledge gaps and cater the training to their actual needs while showing your team that you value their input and time.
What Do You Have Available?
If your organization already has the proper training materials, make sure they are up to date and contain relevant information. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Members of your team may already be proficient in the training subject or even have certifications in the area. Ask them to be part of the planning and training process. If you are training on a new program or software, there may already be training materials available. Live webinars are a great way to have an expert on a topic share with the group without having to worry about travel restrictions.
Provide Different Modes of Learning
You have likely found that certain learning methods work better for you than others—this is true for your employees and team as well. Some of the popular learning methods include:
- Visual learning: Individuals process information by seeing it. Include a visual aid such as color-coded topics, helpful charts, and images to accompany your message.
- Auditory learning: This is for those who do best when they can hear the information. Pair your visual aid with a lecture or information that will be spoken by you or a guest. This can also include video clips and audio recordings.
- Kinesthetic learning: When it comes to learning, it’s all about being hands-on for these types of learners. Get people up out of their seats and move around to different groups (in-person training only). Include opportunities for drawing, model making, and participating as they would fit in with your topic.
You can also provide readings to the group during or ahead of time to use as a platform for discussion.
Inform Trainees About the Training
Make sure that your trainees have a general idea of the training topic before the actual training. Explain the key points that will be covered and what new concepts they will be expected to learn.
Following these steps can help you organize a meaningful training for your company or organization. CONCEPT Continuing and Professional Studies at Palo Alto University offers training for mental health professionals, with custom group training available to fit your staff’s professional needs. Contact us today to start planning your training.
