Let’s face it, the only way you can build an effective training program is by following a systematic, step-by-step process. Quite often, you will find a company building a program off of one-off events, but that often results in unmet organizational objectives as well as participants’ expectations. And considering today’s increasing remote workforce, the need for effective as well as ongoing training can’t be ignored, or be taken for granted. Now, in this guide, we have outlined the necessary steps for creating effective training programs that not only leads to positive business impacts but also support the drive for a comprehensive experience management strategy;

Step 1: assess the training needs – this is the very first step in developing a training program. There are some companies who have already established the employee training needs in their strategic human resource or individual development plans, but if you are building the programs from scratch – that is no predetermined objectives or plans – you will need to assess the specific areas you want to concentrate on.

Step 2: set organizational training objectives – the training needs assessment in step one – organizational, task, and individual – will also identify gaps in your current training programs as well as employee skillsets. If these gaps are available, they should be analyzed, prioritized, and also turned into the company’s training objectives. The goal here is to bridge any gap that may be present between the current and the desired performance by establishing a training program. And on the employees’ level, you have to ensure that the program focuses majorly on the areas of improvement.

Step 3: create a training action plan – once you have identified those gaps, the next step will be to come up with a comprehensive action plan that includes instructional design, learning theories, content plus other training elements. What’s more, the resources, as well as the training delivery methods, need to be properly detailed. Now, when developing the training program, the level of training plus the learning styles of the participants got to be put into consideration as well. Most companies also do pilot their training initiatives, gathers feedback, which in turn helps them make adjustments wherever possible before launching the program to the entire company.

Step 4: implement training initiatives – this is the phase where the action plan comes to life. It is also in this phase where the company got to decide whether the program is to be delivered in-house or externally coordinated. What’s more, program implementation ought to consider the learning KPI goals, employee engagement, and also thoroughly planning the scheduling of the training activities. Once everything is on order, then the training program is launched conducted, and promoted. Remember to also monitor the progress of the program to ensure that it is effective enough.

Step 5: evaluate and revise – as we mentioned earlier, the program has to be monitored continually and also evaluated so as to determine how effective the program is and if all the training objectives have been met. Get feedback from everyone involved and then analyze the feedback to identify if there are any weaknesses in the program. And if the objectives aren’t been met you can always revise your action plan.