Technical training is a critical factor for success in any organization. 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 corporate technical training, we need to look at how it relates to the work done in organizations and why it matters. Corporate technical training refers to any learning that focuses on using 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 highly technical topics such as computer programming, software applications, hardware maintenance, and other IT-related topics. More importantly, it more often ventures entirely out of IT skills and into the everyday technical needs of employees.
Organizations can better meet their goals and objectives by having the right technical skills in place. 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 they are 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 crucial for IT-focused positions. It’s just as essential for all organizational roles, even the least technical. No matter what 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 using and applying technology 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 using 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 corporate technical training and its importance 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 organizational levels. Technical training focuses on helping people understand how certain systems, technologies, and processes work and how employees use them to meet organizational objectives better or, in simpler terms, do their job.
Corporate technical training can be offered in many 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 better understand how technology works for their jobs.
Technical training is often seen as a critical component of any organization’s success, as it helps to ensure that staff has the necessary skills and knowledge to do their job effectively. It can also help employees stay up-to-date with rapidly changing technology and give them the tools they need to remain competitive.
Technical training is essential 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 significantly benefit companies and create a more productive and engaged workforce.
It could also protect your company’s data from hackers and 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 precisely why corporate technical training is so necessary and greatly benefits 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 common mistakes and preventable errors resulting from a lack of understanding of the technology. It allows for better problem-solving and gives employees the skills to perform tasks quicker and more efficiently. This saves time in the long run, leading to higher 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 offer 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 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, increasing 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 improve their performance further and, by extension, your organization’s performance.
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 every employee. Most security breaches happen because of human error; proper training can reduce that.
Overall, corporate technical training has essential benefits for any organization, whether it’s improving productivity, efficiency, customer satisfaction, profitability, or security. Because the world of work is constantly 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 correctly, corporate technical training is invaluable for any business.
Challenges of Corporate Technical Training
While there are numerous benefits to corporate technical training, it can also bring numerous challenges. If done poorly, it can be costly, time-consuming, and difficult to deploy at scale. For technical training, we prefer digital training methods because they’re affordable and can be deployed at scale.
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 vital 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 essential. Ideally, they should have extensive knowledge, experience, and training in the subject matter. An effective trainer can distinguish between a successful training program and a failure.
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 significant investment of time and money, it’s essential to have a support system to 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 current 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 their work.
Several strategies should be considered to ensure the successful implementation of corporate technical training. Or even a combination of multiple strategies.
The first step for implementing corporate technical training is identifying what training employees require. 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 their gaps in knowledge.
It’s also essential to provide training materials and resources 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 learning materials.
One of the most often overlooked forms of training and one of the most affordable forms of training 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 many 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 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, interactive, and should provide the opportunity for feedback. For software, it might be a software simulation with realistic scenarios to help employees understand the true nature of software and how to use it in the context of their jobs.
Additionally, organizations should ensure that the training environment is conducive to learning and that employees are supported in their learning process.
We’ve seen countless occasions where eLearning provides audio narration with no subtitles. Many people are either in loud environments, don’t have headphones, or would rather read the content at their speed rather than listen to it narrated. You’re not providing an environment conducive to learning by not providing subtitles.
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 and having managers observe how well they can perform their job. There are ways to determine how well the training was received with carefully worded employee assessments. 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 their staff has the correct skills and knowledge to perform their jobs efficiently and effectively.
Wrap Up
In the rapidly changing business environments of the modern workplace, corporate technical training is essential to any successful organization. Organizations will remain competitive and maintain their edge in a changing market by providing employees with the tools and knowledge to quickly adapt.
Investing in corporate technical training helps employees develop the skills necessary to be successful in their roles and helps organizations stay ahead of the curve. A knowledgeable and well-versed workforce in the latest technology is invaluable to any organization, which is why corporate technical training is necessary.
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.