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Companies that provide training for their employees are more likely to see them stay, grow and flourish.
According to the 2022 Workplace Learning & Development Trends from SHRM, 76% of employees say they are more likely to stay with a company that offers continuous training. And 31% of employees want more control over their training programs.
But companies don’t always have the budget or buy-in needed to provide training on everything and for everyone, and L&D teams must manage access to courses while meeting the needs of the organization.
The Basic Training Hierarchy
Overall, training goals usually guide managing access to training, said Christina Gialleli, director of people ops at Epignosis, the parent company behind TalentLMS. And access to training typically first comes at the departmental level.
“There’s training that’s available to all company employees, and then there’s department-specific training — where training is split into functional and non-functional (also called soft skills training),” she said.
Aside from departmental training, training access is usually based on seniority, tenure and career progression or path, as determined by HR or learning and development departments, Gialleli said.
For example, new hires may go through different levels of training in their first year, while new or soon-to-be managers receive training more specific to their transition, she said. Then, refresher courses become important for training that needs to be taken every few years.
Approvals Beyond the Basics
When it comes to training that is more in-depth and requires a significant time commitment or involvement from an external trainer or expert, there is an approval process — and the criteria for unlocking it have to do with available resources.
Suppose that a limited number of one-on-one training sessions are available with an external expert. In that case, companies are likely to prioritize employees who have a justified need for the specific training, Gialleli said.
At Airswift, for example, access is based on various employee and organizational needs. These are determined by needs assessments for individuals or departments, which help to expose skills and knowledge gaps, said Louise Bancroft, the company’s senior VP of people and culture, and Liz Fiumara, L&D director at the workforce solutions provider.
Airswift employees can self-enroll in courses for soft skills development to improve their skills in areas like communication, presentation skills or teamwork, but the company also allows them to self-enroll in courses relating to areas of personal interest, such as well-being. They are even working on a recognition program and rewards platform for employees who actively engage in training initiatives.
Restrictions arise when it comes to role-specific training, dependent on department and job responsibilities. For example, Airswift leadership development programs are typically limited to individuals identified as having leadership potential or occupying management roles, said Bancroft and Fiumara.
And like most organizations, Airswift also has to weigh the costs. “We have an approval process to ensure we can manage the training budget and costs effectively,” ensuring consistency with strategic priorities, said Bancroft and Fiumara.
Related Article: Building a Learning and Development Strategy for Lean Times
Barriers to Effective Training
Beyond budget, there are several other barriers that may come into play and which L&D leaders must overcome. These include:
- Self-motivation to complete courses might not be natural for everyone on the team, which would require managers to step in. Gialleli advised that the company tie training completion with specific results, projects or career paths. There should also be fun elements to the training sessions like quizzes, and the training should spell out the practical benefits of the courses.
- Technical difficulties also can get in the way of accessing training. Struggles with logging in, having unstable network connections or running into unavailable learning materials could stop staff from using the training available. To mitigate that, managers should choose a stable cloud-based learning platform that eliminates those risks at large, Gialleli advised.
- Accessibility should be considered, too. Training videos and audio resources should have captions or transcripts, and keyboard shortcuts should be included for people with mobility limitations, said Gialleli. “Making it easy for everyone to access and navigate training courses creates equal learning opportunities.”
Other barriers to accessing effective training include company culture and having a learning journey in the first place.
Structure Makes a Difference
Arie White, enterprise sales director at Cvent, shared that when working at other organizations that lacked training structure, “the priorities become just getting the work done,” instead of leveling up skills. When looking to access training, budget constraints and approvals became cumbersome and ultimately not worth pursuing.
Now, at Cvent, White completes required monthly training specific to new product updates and rollouts, which ensure that staff understands the product and can be knowledgeable with customers. An assessment at the end requires staff to score at least 80% to continue and receive a certificate.
White said he also has access to a broad library of on-demand content available to the entire organization via its internal learning management system (LMS). “I’m excited about the tool itself, just thinking about what’s there.”
The system sends automated reminders to complete the course each month, eventually including a manager to step in if training lapses. But White said the boss isn’t coming from a standpoint of punishment or consequence, but instead from a place of support.
Related Article: Balancing Hard and Soft Skills in Learning & Development
Supportive Culture and Manager
It may be difficult for organizations that don’t have a learning plan in place to get started with this process, White said. But leaders and managers should make it a priority to set the standard for emphasizing the importance of training for both individuals and teams.
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Unfortunately, many organizations don’t have this level of dedication. In fact, the aforementioned SHRM study shows that 26% of organizations lack buy-in from leadership for L&D.
“Come back to the core principles of establishing the relationship, identify where the individual has some specific talents and be specific about the things you’re supporting them with in terms of growth,” White said. “It can be a win-win relationship for the organization and the individual that’s being trained.”
Bancroft and Fiumara agree that a lack of a learning culture can be a huge barrier to a successful program. Managers play a key role here in promoting training programs and their benefits.
“It’s remarkable how even simple things like showing enthusiasm for their own development and leading by example can help foster a culture,” they said.
