Each year, companies seek new ways to improve the speed and efficiency of their workflow. They also seek to improve the quality of their products while maintaining costs at acceptable levels. One way to ensure continuous improvement is through technology training for staff members. Technology training equips employees with skills for their current jobs while also preparing them for new roles. Any business that is heavily reliant on technology must dedicate sufficient time and resources to upskill its employees. Here are 6 benefits that accrue directly to companies that incorporate technology training in their annual calendar and budget.
1. It leads to Improved Skills and Knowledge
The most direct benefit of technology training is the skills and knowledge that staff gain, which impact the work they do at the company. The staff members will be able to use new software and hardware. Upskilling employees means that they can finish tasks quicker and more independently. By adding to the overall knowledge that an employee has, the company ends up saving on the total cost of human resources. Tasks that would ordinarily require two people to collaborate might be done by one person who’s knowledgeable in multiple fields.
This is quite visible in the software development field where engineers can be proficient in several languages or development frameworks. They are therefore able to take on a project by themselves from research to market.
2. Confidence and Retention
Incorporating technology training into a company leads to increased confidence in employees. They will be more willing to embrace new ways of doing things at the company. One of the biggest reasons for change resistance is the fear that they might not handle new software or new working methods properly. By carrying out technology training, trying new things becomes part of the organization’s culture. Increased confidence is a great way to trigger intrapreneurship, where employees develop new products or methods within the company.
As indicated, technology training is supposed to prepare employees for new roles in the future. Employees, especially in the technology world, are constantly comparing their skills with those of peers in similar positions elsewhere. It’s important for them to constantly feel that they are improving and progressing. The absence of a feeling of progress will lead to a high turnover of employees. Hiring externally to replace lost talent is often more expensive than retention.
3. Technology Training Justifies Appraisals
Every so often, companies undertake employee appraisals before recommending people for promotions or awarding bonuses and other forms of recognition. Employees sit with their seniors and map out goals for the next period. These goals are both organizational and personal. For the employer to justify an appraisal process, its important they facilitate the development of employees through upskilling. Technology training coupled with other forms of training ensures that every year employees are better equipped to deal with the demands of their work.
Besides technical skills, regular technology training teaches soft skills such as collaboration, teamwork, empathy, persistence, and time management.
4. Technology Training Improves IT Security
When your organization handles a lot of sensitive data, technology training will vastly improve your data security. Technology training will involve sensitizing employees on emerging threats and how best to minimize vulnerability. It’s important to constantly remind them of internal policies regarding the handling of hardware devices and logging into the company’s network. As remote working continues to become more common in this decade, regular technology training will be more appreciated to reduce the costs of breaches.
5. Customer Satisfaction
Employees who are properly equipped with skills and the right tools will lead to better service provision to clients. Employees will be able to complete tasks faster and more accurately. Being able to quickly diagnose problems and apply first-time fixes can be a great source of competitive advantage. Technology training can also help employees able to use CRM tools which help manage the client relationship better.
6. Less Wastage and Supervision
Technology training also aids to minimize the wastage of resources, especially in production lines. Proper training eliminates trial-and-error methods of learning in the production line. This reduces the error rate and can significantly save on material costs. In fact, technology training that simulates the real-world environment through augmented reality and digital twins allows employees to learn without risking damage to expensive machines.
Wastage reduces by having less need for supervision. When employees are properly trained and equipped, they can complete tasks and hand them over with minimal intervention. Even in groups, members can split tasks into deliverables for each member with no need for a hierarchical order. This can help organizations achieve a more horizontal structure that could be cheaper to run.
Risks of Failing to Incorporate Technology Training
One major risk of failing to carry out sufficient technology training is a dip in productivity. Employees need to have skills to deal with emerging problems in the workplace, including changing customer expectations. This directly hurts the value of the company as it risks losing customers to brands that are more proactive.
Unhappy employees are likely to leave in search of employment in companies that have a better learning culture. This not only results in an interruption in workflow, but it also costs the company time and money to recruit suitable replacements. A company that embraces learning can create a ‘knowledge tank’ that is passed on to new employees through on and off-the-job training as well as resources such as brand books, manuals, and recorded video material.
Failure to train staff properly can also lead to apathy against new systems and methods of working. Staff members might feel that they were not consulted before such changes were planned. It’s only through training sessions that they can express their frustrations with current systems and their expectations from the new ones.
If your company needs help executing technology training, check out Transcendent Software. We help companies identify knowledge gaps and develop a plan to deliver proper training to their staff. Technology training enables client companies select and make use of the best tools to become more productive.