Recently I started a job that had the most pointless training class. I received stacks and stacks of paper and I have not looked at it or even thought about it since I got hired and started working; half of the training is in a face-to-face class, and half of the training is online. The company I work for has even been on the news for their excessive paper usage in training classes, so now they are gradually moving to the eTraining method of orientation for new colleagues. What led to this change? The topics in this article explain why companies are migrating towards the eTraining method, and the trends in training that got human resource managers using this new technology to teach new workers. Challenges for training include different training styles, generation gaps, and other cultural barriers so moving to a more generational-friendly method of training is becoming a best practice for firms. eTraining methods are easier to update, they move quicker, and information is available at any time on a self-paced basis. These characteristics align with our ever-changing technological culture.
http://ehstoday.com/training/evolution_workplace_training
I had the same problem when I worked for Massage Envy, when I was hired I was handed three 50 page front and back paper packages. Not to mention a new piece of paper every time I arrived for training. The training was unprofessional and I received some training face-to-face, but majority of it was online with paperwork and tests. I never even looked at half the pages when I was working there. Now that I've quit I noticed that when my friend got hired there, everything was online for her! I think the use of online training is so much more useful than anything on paper. As soon as you get a booklet of paper you think to yourself I'll skim through this and never use it again. Being online you can have people training out of state, language barrier training and most employees use e-training throughout most of their career.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the concept that e-training is beneficial to a workplace due to the automatic process and easiness of being able to learn through electronic components. Although there may be some lack of saviness with technology amongst older people, the ability to adapt to the work environment will make things alot smoother and help older people adapt to societies technological processes. I believe that with e-training, selection of employees will be based on many factors,especially the ability to use technology in an everyday environment.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the concept of e-training is productive for employees as well as employers. I recently received a job with a bank that works around my school schedule. Instead of having me travel to training classes I can do everything online at my own time. This gives me time to get the classes done more productively and efficiently because I am not waiting to schedule a class.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started training for my job it came in two components. One was how to use the case management system (Peoplesoft) and the other was a hand holding of company values. We really didn't cover much in the way of what my job would actually be like and as such, all of us were underprepared for the roles that we would have to fill. This still continues on and it's frustrating for new people and veterans alike as we all suffer for a team members ignorance. Delivery is important but content matters most in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteMy first job working at a KFC part time also had online training. In fact, it was mostly just indoctrination and really bad acting, as well as safety information and rules/regulations. I can see eTraining being a really cheap alternative to paper/class training, but how effective is it really? Can computers tell if you actually learned anything or just input things to get through it quicker?
ReplyDeleteAlso, you can only learn so much by training. The majority of on-the-job information I've learned was from actually being on the job. Reading those fake scenarios that hardly ever happen, or just talking about hypothetical situations in training never compares to the real thing. Nothing will beat human interaction, but as far as learning the basics I think eTraining is the way to go. Especially with procedures and best practices consistently changing
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