Because you are reading these words, I am confident you are a believer in ongoing learning and development for yourself and those you lead. So you may find it hard to understand why your team members dread the training that you make available to them.
Many leaders who have attended my leadership training courses through the years have asked me “How do I get my employees excited about training?” And it’s a good question. After all, if employees aren’t excited about the training, they are less likely to engage in the process and take away something of value.
Your folks likely fall into one of three groups when it comes to training. They see themselves as vacationers (training is better than going to work), prisoners (they’ve been forced to attend), or willing learners (these are the ideal employees that make your efforts worthwhile).
How can you convert your vacationers and prisoners into willing learners? Follow these tips.
- Be a role model. Do you attend training? Does your team know that you do? Do you come back, share what you learned, set personal goals based on the training, and ask them to hold you accountable for progress? You should answer “Yes” to all those questions. If you want to persuade employees that training is beneficial, you have to actually attend training yourself.
- Let them choose their training. Whenever possible, involve your employees in selecting the training. They often know better than you what type of learning and skills they need to succeed. Plus, giving them a choice reduces that “prisoner feeling” that many employees experience when you force them to take training courses.
- Make it relevant. Help people see how the training, and more specifically what they’ll learn, will make a difference in their work. How will it help them be more productive or safer? How will it improve their work and advance their careers? Lay out specifically how they will benefit on a personal level, and they’ll be more likely to buy in to the training..
- Expect improvement. Training is worthless if people don’t improve in some way. Before the training, set goals for employees, about what you want them to learn and changes you want to see happen as a result of that learning. Afterward, meet with them to review what they learned and how they plan to apply it. Schedule regular check ins and offer plenty of support, but hold them accountable for making progress. If they know you expect them to apply the training, they’ll be more engaged in the process.
We offer a variety of Remarkable Learning options, including webinars and classroom and online training. Learn more about opportunities to take your and your employees development to the next level.
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