Job skills training was the number one training need identified by participants in a recent survey, and leadership/supervisory skills training is a close second. Also, 22% chose job skills as their top training need, while more than 20% pointed to leadership/supervisory skills.
Other training needs include compliance training (12%), safety training (6.5%), better training materials (5.9%), and more time for training (5.6%), according to the 2014 Fringe Benefits Survey: Training and Development recently released by BLR®.
The survey covered a variety of topics, including budgets, training processes, and metrics. One quarter of survey participants said their training budgets will increase in 2015—with increases of about 37% expected for development training, nearly 31% for technical/professional training, close to 22% for compliance training, and almost 21% for HR staff training.
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In-person and online training will continue to be popular training methods in the next few years, according to the survey. Currently, about 60% of participants regularly provide in-person presentations by HR, and 68% anticipate using more of those sessions in the coming year. While 37% currently use online training regularly, 86% expect to start using more online training.
Currently, nearly 41% regularly rely on printed materials for training; nearly 21% use video-based or DVD-based training materials; 19% turn to external experts to provide in-person sessions; 18% provide training via outside conferences; and nearly 15% use telephone/audio seminars. Looking ahead, BLR reports that more than half of survey participants plan to use more video/DVD and mobile/tablet-based materials, and about 48% expect to use more telephone/audio conferences.
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The survey also asked participants about how they measure the effectiveness of training. Trainee evaluation of the trainer was the most popular response for formal methods used, with more than 43% of respondents indicating that they use this metric formally. Other methods used on a formal basis include testing trainees (33.8%), seeking supervisor or management input (nearly 26.8%), measuring return on investment (9.1%), and measuring return on engagement (9.1%).
“While the specific manner in which companies train their employees continues to evolve, what hasn’t changed is the return on investment that employee training offers,” said Beth Greene, manager of BLR’s TrainingToday. “At the end of the day, the most important thing is that there is a focus on training and development within the organization. The key is, regardless of the format decided on, that thorough and comprehensive training is taking place. Employee training can offer the organization protection against lawsuits and injuries on the job but it also shows your employees you’re willing to make an investment in them.”