Every year organizations evaluate their goals for the future and plan staff training aimed at achieving those objectives. As technology is evolving at a lightning fast pace, it’s more important than ever to provide employees with the knowledge and skills that will allow them to stay ahead of the curve.
As a global provider of sales and negotiation training, Shapiro Negotiations provides the tools that can give your business a competitive advantage. Below are five key trends in training we believe will have a strong impact in 2018. Contact SNI today to find out more on how we can help your business increase its revenue.
Virtual Reality
Companies are already using virtual reality (VR) as an integral component of employee training. Hospitals, athletic facilities, and even fast food restaurants currently use VR to recruit and train staff. Kentucky Fried Chicken uses VR to teach cooks how to fry chicken without having to heat up an actual fryer. UPS uses augmented reality headsets to navigate road hazards. Walmart says all of its training facilities will soon use headsets to practice customer interactions. Sales teams and negotiators can also use virtual reality in anticipation of tense situations to practice dealing with objections.
Micro-learning
It’s hard to set aside a whole week, or even a whole day, to attend a conference or workshop. Micro-learning breaks down training into bite-sized pieces users can access at intervals throughout the week, using short breaks and transition periods as productive learning time.
Emphasizing Quality Over Quantity
While it’s possible to learn more when it’s broken down into manageable chunks, the focus should be on providing employees with useful, helpful information. If staff feel like they aren’t receiving training that can help them meet their goals, work more efficiently or earn more money, they aren’t likely to put training into practice.
Social Learning
If you want your group to function as a team, some of their training should allow them to practice doing just that. When people interact with others during training, they are more engaged and retain more of what they’ve learned. Online learning is beginning to incorporate the ability to chat, share notes, and collaborate remotely to complete projects.
Improved Tracking
In the past, when employees attended training, it was difficult to tell if it was worth the investment of company time and money. Now strategic learning platforms provide employers with feedback that indicate how employees responded to each segment of training. Quizzes signal what concepts need follow-up, and surveys allow employees to express how they felt about the training and what they would like to see in the future.
