10 Mistakes Employers Make When Training Managers And Employees

Most people understand the importance of training managers and employees. However, experience teaches that some employers continue to make the same mistakes that undermine the value of the instructions they offer.

The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the most common mistakes so you can avoid them in your future training offerings.

1. Not training anyone

   Of course, the biggest mistake of all is not training employees about the subjects that help them to do their jobs better and to stay out of trouble. In this same category, we could also include not doing enough training.

2. Not having the support of leaders

   Top leaders need to endorse and support all of the training initiatives offered by an employer. Without this top-down support, attendees may not take the teaching as seriously, and the organization will realize less value from the training.

3. Not tailoring the training to the audience

   To maximize effectiveness, training needs to be tailored to the industry, work environment and circumstances. The training must take into account the attendees' level of knowledge and experience and build upon that.

   The education must complement the attendees' strengths and fill in their learning gaps. Tailoring the curriculum will help reduce the total time in training while increasing its effectiveness.

4. Not making the training interesting

   Few things are worse than sitting through boring lectures. Training in the modern, stimulating world needs to be interesting, engaging, entertaining and interactive.

   Effective education should be called "infotainment" — in other words, it should be both informative and entertaining. It needs to keep the attendees' interest so they will feel immersed in the topic and retain more of the information that is being covered in the training session(s).

5. Not including practical examples in the training

   In the work environment, training needs to be relevant to the jobs being done by the attendees. The instruction must include real-world, practical examples and scenarios if it is to be of immediate value. Role-playing or workshops can be helpful but may be intimidating to some attendees, so the exercises must be fully thought out before they are included in the training.

6. Not conducting the training in a comfortable environment for learning

   There is a saying: "The mind can only absorb what the fanny can endure." If the seating or seating arrangements in a training class are uncomfortable, the learning opportunity...