Employee performance challenges can be the result of a lack of appropriate training. When a team member lacks knowledge in a critical area, productivity and the quality of their work can both suffer.
In order to correct the issues, you first need to identify the challenges your employees are facing. Then, you need to make sure you provide the right training at the best time. If you want to make sure that your learning and development (L&D) program is designed to address employee performance challenges, here’s what you need to know.
How to Spot Employee Performance Challenges
Identifying employee performance challenges requires a review of key metrics. If the quality or quantity of a team member’s outputs is declining – either across the board or when it comes to specific duties – that indicates that there is an issue. Similarly, repeated breaches of workplace policies, procedures, or best practices should be cause for concern.
Once you review the metrics, you’ll need to determine the root cause. While some performance issues have nothing to do with an employee’s knowledge base and skill set, others are highly impacted by a lack of clear understanding of certain core topics or missing skills. Consider whether the challenges all have something in common and take a moment to speak with the employee. If a lack of quality training is responsible, it will give you insights into what you need to offer in your L&D program.
Providing the Right Training to Your Staff
When it comes to training, timing is critical. Additionally, how the information is shared also plays a role in how engaged an employee is with the program and overall knowledge retention.
Often, just-in-time training is an ideal approach when you need to overcome performance challenges. With just-in-time training, you make sure that the employee is given access to learning resources right before they need to use that knowledge or skill. As a result, as soon as they complete the module, they can put what they’ve learned into practice. This can enhance long-term retention by ensuring they don’t have a chance to forget the details before they use the information and by reinforcing what is learned through real-world application quickly.
You do need to make sure your just-in-time training is highly flexible and mobile-friendly. By embracing microlearning, you can make sure that employees can access content on critical topics quickly, delivering it in bite-sized chunks. If you make your training mobile-friendly, it also becomes more accessible, ensuring your employees can learn no matter where they are or what device they are using.
Mentoring programs are also highly effective for addressing performance challenges. If an employee excels in an area where another worker struggles, creating a mentor-mentee relationship between them can lead to a knowledge exchange based on the practical application of the information.
Are You Looking for L&D Professionals Who Can Help You Provide the Right Training?
At Clarity Consultants, we have over a quarter-century of experience in the L&D field, giving you the resources you need to locate the top talent your company needs to thrive. If you are looking for L&D experts who can help you provide the right training at the right time, the team at Clarity Consultants can make it easier than ever to locate your ideal candidates. Contact us to find out more about our recruitment and hiring services and see how our L&D expertise can benefit you.
