Regardless of how educated or experienced you may be, you should know that you will need training when you join a company. Could be that you are needed to learn about the company’s culture, or maybe study the procedures used in that company, or specifically the role that will be assigned to you. This is why on-the-job training is so crucial.
What is on-the-job training?
Basically, on-the-job training is a certain type of training that’s explicit, prescribed, and delivered at the workplace. Please don’t mistake this for learning through experience, as learning through experience is a simple concept that occurs primarily through mistakes and achievements. You will be needed to use more essential items, and learning materials such as micro-learning videos and other mobile resources – when needed to review product demos. Essentially, on-the-job training is;
- Relevant
- Timely
- Targeted
- Helpful to the employees
- Contains useful information
What are some of its advantages?
On-the-job training is quite advantageous to both the employees as well as the employers. Some of the advantages include;
Easily applicable – as an employee, you will no longer be wasting your precious time paging your way through some dusty manuals. Basically, this form of training is specific and focused on the needs of the employees, whereby if needed to access a certain training module, they can just use online learning so as to locate courses. In essence, no one wouldn’t like the prospect of getting important information quickly without having to go through so many processes.
Saves time – time is of the essence, and it is indeed a precious commodity. Now, what the on-the-job training does is to deliver information when and where you need it the most. So, if there is a certain change in your company, letting the employees be aware of them, probably through a push notification as soon as it is effected saves a lot of time, given that there is actual training will be needed.
It is flexible – as an employee, of course, you don’t want all the information at a go, right? So, with the on-the-job training, considering the different types of E-learning tools, you will be able to choose the ones that make sense based on your role and/or circumstances.
Are there any limitations?
Of course, there are! In fact, they include the following:
Creates disturbance – with new trainees everywhere in the actual workplace, there will certainly be some disturbance within the team, which will ultimately distract their concentration at work.
Low productivity – when an employee is hired for a specific role, chances are that he or she doesn’t fully understand everything to do with that role, which means that he will have to be trained while on the role. What this does is that the employee will take time for him or her to understand, meaning that it will affect their overall productivity during this period.
Conclusion
Generally, on-the-job training is actually very beneficial, despite the few challenges experienced. Looking at the bright side, it prepares an employee for real-time engagement in the near future and also helps them have a better understanding of their specific roles.