When it comes to being successful in any organization, technical training is a critical factor for success. I mean, have you counted how many times you use different applications or the number of hours you use technology in your day?
I bet it’s quite a bit and many underestimate the amount.
Corporate technical training helps to ensure that employees have the necessary knowledge and skills to contribute to the organization’s goals and objectives. But what is corporate technical training and why is it essential to every company?
To fully understand the essentials of what corporate technical training is, we need to look at how it relates to the work done in organizations and why it matters. Corporate technical training refers to any type of learning that focuses on how to use specific tools and technologies in a company.
Corporate technical training ensures employees have the necessary skills for technical proficiency in the workplace.
This can include really technical topics such as computer programming, software applications, hardware maintenance, and various other IT-related topics. But more importantly, it more often ventures out of IT skills entirely and into the everyday technical needs of employees.
By having the right technical skills in place, organizations are better able to meet their goals and objectives. Employees can properly use company technology and do their jobs effectively using it.
With proper corporate technical training, employees work more efficiently while reducing the risk of errors or problems. Corporate technical training also improves employee morale and productivity as staff can be confident that they are being given the right tools to do the job.
In addition to providing employees with the proper technical skills, corporate technical training also helps to foster an understanding of the organization’s values, culture, and processes. It can provide a platform for employees to develop mutual understanding and respect for their peers so that everyone can work together toward achieving common goals.
Technical training isn’t just important for IT-focused positions. It’s just as essential for all roles within an organization, even the least technical of them all. No matter what type of role employees hold today, they’re affected by IT systems from retail employees using cash registers to nurses documenting patient information.
By having the proper technical training, organizations can ensure that the right skills and knowledge are in place to move the organization forward.
What is Corporate Technical Training?
Corporate technical training provides employees with instruction and guidance on how to use technology and apply it to their jobs. This could include any of the following skills.
- Basic computer skills
- Software tutorials
- Data analysis
- Coding
- Troubleshooting
- Analytics
- Digital Security
- Or anything else relating to technology used on the job.
The goal is for employees to become well-versed in the tools and platforms necessary for their specific jobs, allowing them to perform their tasks more effectively and efficiently. It can also help individuals use technology in different operational, industrial, and organizational contexts. It can include the use of tools, software applications, hardware systems, databases, and other technologies.
It has become an increasingly important part of organizational success as businesses become more reliant on technology and the workplace becomes more competitive. Understanding what corporate technical training is and why it matters is essential for organizations looking to stay ahead in the ever-changing landscape.
It’s usually aimed at building technical knowledge and skills among individuals of all levels within an organization. Technical training focuses on helping people understand how certain systems, technologies, and processes work, and how these can be used to better meet organizational objectives or in simpler terms, do their job.
Corporate technical training can be offered in any number of settings including a classroom, online, and even through video tutorials. We prefer creating custom software training with realistic scenarios and simulations but that’s not the only option. Sometimes a quick job aid is all you need!
Corporate technical training can refer to a broad spectrum of skills but in companies it typically means IT systems and software.
Courses can be designed to teach people the basics of how to use different company systems and applications, as well as how to troubleshoot and diagnose potential or common issues. Through hands-on activities and simulations, employees can develop their skills and get a better understanding of how technology works for their jobs.
Technical training is often seen as a key component of any organization’s success, as it helps to ensure that staff has the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively do their job. It can also help employees stay up-to-date with rapidly changing technology and give them the tools they need to stay competitive.
Technical training plays an essential role in creating a culture of continuous learning and development. By providing employees with the opportunity to learn new skills and expand their knowledge, organizations can promote an environment where employees are continuously growing and adapting to the changing needs of the business. This can be a huge benefit to companies and create a more productive and engaged workforce.
Not to mention it could also keep your company’s data safe from hackers and data breaches.
The Benefits of Corporate Technical Training
I’ve covered a few benefits of technical training already as they flow with other elements of what it is. But there’s so much more to technical training than just learning technology. Employees can’t possibly be hired with the knowledge of every specific piece of software an organization uses.
This 2011 article from Harvard Business Review has it right, hire for attitude, train for skill which is also a rephrased quote from Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle.
We recruit for attitude and train for skill.
Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle
That’s exactly why corporate technical training is so important and such a huge benefit to every organization.
These will always be the primary benefits of corporate technical training.
- Improved productivity
- Greater efficiency
- Improved employee satisfaction
- More effective security
- Increased profits
Productivity is improved because technical training helps eliminate many of the common mistakes and preventable errors that result from a lack of understanding of the technology. It allows for better problem-solving and provides employees with the skills to perform their tasks quicker and more efficiently. This saves time in the long run, leading to higher levels of productivity and profitability.
Corporate technical training also improves customer satisfaction by increasing the quality of service provided. When employees know how to use a system well, they can provide better service faster to customers.
Have you ever been on the phone with a customer service agent and you can tell they haven’t been trained well on the systems they’re using?
I have!
It’s frustrating for me because I have to wait (and possibly help them myself), they’re frustrated because they have to make the person on the phone wait, and nobody is happy in the end with the service provided. I understand it’s not their fault and am sympathetic to them being affected by the organization’s lack of proper training. Many are not that forgiving, though, and flat-out blame the agent on the phone for the organization providing little to no training.
On a bit of a happier note, corporate technical training sometimes covers topics such as general system maintenance (restart, clear the cache, etc.) and troubleshooting, which can help employees understand how technology works and respond appropriately in the event of a problem. This leads to better employee and customer experiences, which in turn increases customer loyalty and satisfaction.
The benefits of providing corporate technical training for employees are hard to ignore.
Corporate technical training also helps employees stay up-to-date with changing technology trends. This ensures they remain competitive in the market and can leverage the new knowledge to further improve their performance and by extension the performance of your organization.
We also can’t not mention that it helps reduce the risk of costly mistakes, thus improving an organization’s profitability. Part of corporate technical training is digital security which is up to each and every employee. Most security breaches happen because of human error, proper training can reduce that.
Overall, corporate technical training has important benefits for any organization. Whether it’s improving productivity, efficiency, customer satisfaction, profitability, or security. Because the world of work is always changing, it prepares employees for the ever-evolving technological landscape, allowing them to stay competitive and reap the rewards for themselves and you. When done properly, corporate technical training is an invaluable tool for any business.
Challenges of Corporate Technical Training
While there are numerous benefits to corporate technical training, it can also bring with it numerous challenges. It can be costly, time-consuming, and difficult to deploy at scale if done poorly. We prefer digital training methods for corporate technical training that can easily be deployed at scale successfully.
Since the systems at every organization are typically unique and used in unique ways, corporate technical training needs to be tailored to each organization’s needs and existing infrastructure. That means customization is key to being successful. Additionally, training materials must be regularly updated and redesigned as technology evolves.
Then there’s the fact that most software is designed using an agile framework. Training must also be built in a way that can be adjusted on the fly which isn’t always easy. While instructional design can work with agile software development, it’s not agile in itself and doesn’t work well within the agile framework.
If you’re going the instructor-led or virtual instructor-led route (we don’t like to go there for corporate technical training) having the right instructor is also important. Ideally, they should have extensive knowledge, experience, and training in the subject matter. An effective trainer can make the difference between a successful training program and one that fails.
Like most things in the organization, corporate technical training can be beneficial but also provides challenges.
In addition, technical training instructors must be knowledgeable enough to identify problems, address them, and provide guidance and advice on the best practices to follow. That typically happens on the fly during a training session since people will ask questions. Either the instructor is knowledgeable enough to answer questions or there’s a subject matter expert in the session to answer questions.
Since corporate technical training involves a large investment of time and money, it’s important to have a support system that can help with logistical and administrative components. This includes having the right staff to manage the program, maintain it, and provide any required assistance.
This is a big one for challenges. It’s essential to ensure that the corporate technical training program is up to date, and properly aligned with the organization’s goals. Without proper needs analysis or a good training design process, this one is easy to fail at or waste a lot of people’s time with poor training.
Strategies for Implementing Corporate Technical Training in Organizations
Implementing corporate technical training in an organization is an effective way of developing employee’s skills, knowledge, and competencies. It ensures employees are up-to-date on the latest technology, trends, and practices necessary for the work they perform.
To ensure the successful implementation of corporate technical training, several strategies should be considered. Or even a combination of multiple strategies.
The first step for implementing corporate technical training is to identify what training is required by employees. This involves assessing employee’s current skills and knowledge and identifying gaps in their training that need to be filled. You’ll often find this referred to as the learning gap which is uncovered in the needs analysis.
Once the gaps in training are identified, organizations can create a customized training plan to meet the specific needs of each employee.
To effectively train employees you need to know where their gaps in knowldge are.
It’s also important to provide training materials and resources that are tailored to the specific needs of the organization and system being taught. This could include anything from a self-paced course, video tutorials (aka training videos), or any other number of learning materials.
One of the most often overlooked forms of training that’s also one of the most affordable is performance support. Sometimes it’s as simple as providing a PDF document that tells employees how to do a specific task in a few steps. This is especially true if they only perform the task on occasion. A quick job aid can solve all kinds of problems for rarely performed tasks.
It can also be nice to provide access to training experts who can provide guidance and answer questions regarding the specific skills and knowledge that need to be learned. Office hours are a good option for that. Employees can optionally join a call during a specific time to ask questions to experts on the phone. You can also use groups in your enterprise social network to provide additional support.
Another option for implementing corporate technical training in an organization is to ensure that the training is provided effectively. This means that the training should be engaging and interactive, and should provide the opportunity for feedback. For learning software that might look like a software simulation with realistic scenarios that help employees understand the true nature of software and how it’s used for their job.
Additionally, organizations should ensure that the environment in which the training takes place is conducive to learning and that employees are supported in their learning process.
We’ve seen on countless occasions eLearning providing audio narration and no subtitles. Many people are either in loud environments, don’t have headphones, or simply would rather read the content at their own speed rather than listen to it narrated. By not providing subtitles you’re not providing an environment conducive to learning.
Always include accessible options in eLearning including providing subtitles in videos and other training content if narrated.
Finally, organizations should evaluate the effectiveness of corporate technical training. This can be done by assessing employee performance pre and post-training, as well as by having managers observe how well they’re able to perform their job. There are even ways to assess how well the training was received with carefully worded employee assessments at the end. Smile sheets aren’t the only option which is great because they tell you little to nothing.
Evaluating the success of corporate technical training is essential to the success of future training.
By assessing the effectiveness of corporate technical training, organizations can make necessary adjustments to training, if required.
The success of implementing corporate technical training in an organization depends on creating an effective strategy. By doing so, organizations can ensure that their staff has the right set of skills and knowledge required to perform their jobs efficiently and effectively.
Wrap Up
In the rapidly changing business environments of the modern workplace, corporate technical training is an essential part of any successful organization. By providing employees with the tools and knowledge to quickly adapt, organizations will remain competitive and maintain their edge in a changing market.
Investing in corporate technical training helps employees develop the skills necessary to be successful in their roles, and help organizations stay ahead of the curve. Having a workforce that’s knowledgeable and well-versed in the latest technology is invaluable to any organization, which is why corporate technical training is so important.
We specialize in digital training solutions that focus on corporate technical training. We’d love to work with you to provide the best solution possible to help your employees with the skills necessary to make technical projects successful.
Schedule a free consultation so we can learn more about your project and how corporate technical training might (or might not) be a good fit for helping your employees make the necessary technical changes in their jobs to be successful.