Workplace Efficiency Through Computer Skill Development

Efficiency Management

Business managers in today’s competitive economy place a premium on task efficiency by those they work with. The accepted school of thought is that by conducting work related tasks more efficiently a company can save time and money, thereby gaining a competitive advantage over others in the marketplace.

One effective way to boost efficiency is by increasing the employee’s skill with computers and technology. With increased skills and confidence the employee is able to complete tasks quickly and efficiently as well as identify and eliminate redundant tasks in their work flow processes.

Identifying Employees To Invest In

Certainly most companies do not have the training budget to actively train all employees in more effective usage of computer technology. These constraints make the selection of the right employees to invest in a critical management task. In order to spend the limited amount of training dollars available wisely, and receive the most return on the training investment, each manager must develop criteria for selecting the best possible candidates for training.

The three generally accepted keys for employee selection are dedication to work, aptitude for learning, and potential for growth as an employee. This triad allows for identification of those prospective trainees who place a high personal value on the quality of their work product while possessing the ability to learn and apply new skills. Finally, every company is looking to invest in those employees who have the potential to serve the company for long periods and have their occupational duties and responsibilities grow as the company prospers.

With human capital being a key item on most successful company’s balance sheet, one can see how the selection of the right employee’s to train and prepare for additional roles is critical to long term growth.

Applying Training To Job Tasks

All of the training in the world is useless unless the employee can directly relate the skills they are learning in the classroom to the tasks that they perform in the office on a daily basis. Furthermore, for an employee to truly embrace training and use it to benefit their organization they must not only see the application of the training to their work, but clearly see the benefits that they will receive from implementing their new skills.

Selecting the proper training professionals to conduct your training is crucial to successfully relating the training to the work that each employee is engaging in daily. Management should seek out training professionals who take the time to visit the work site and learn the demands that their prospective students face. Only after a thorough survey of the work site, as well as an evaluation of the information technology used and the initial skill level of the workforce can a training professional develop a learning path that will truly be effective.

Training In House or Through Outside Contractor

In house training is effective because the trainer should already understand the needs of the employee’s to be trained and the goals of the management. Additionally, in house training can simplify logistical concerns, and allow for more flexible training schedules. However, before a management decides to conduct training with in house personnel as the trainers they must evaluate the true costs involved as well as the talent pool available.

Costs for training are substantial, and they are generally applied directly to overhead. In small firms a trainer may have to be removed from performing other critical duties in order to conduct training sessions. This can create a deficiency in the trainer’s usual work area and cause other important business tasks to suffer. Management should understand the time involved in planning and conducting training sessions and evaluate the true costs of direct employees conducting the work prior to committing to this path.

A trainer or educator must not only have superior experience and skill in the area that they are teaching, but the also must have excellent communication skills, organization skills, a positive attitude, and be empathetic to the process the student will go through during the learning process. Having a good knowledge of the subject area is not enough to be an effective trainer or educator. One has to be able to get their knowledge across to others effectively, plan effective course sessions, and motivate their students. If your organization does not have personnel with all of these qualities available then using an outside contractor for training may be a better solution for you.

The use of outside contractors for training can have significant advantages. The contractor may provide the training site and equipment, reducing the employers need to dedicate space for such activities. Contractor trainers are likely to have backgrounds in education and excellent communication skills, making them increasingly effective. Finally, the employee being trained may feel more at ease by knowing that the person training them will not be someone that the report to or interact with in the workplace. Often students are hesitant to ask critical questions, or show a lack of understanding regarding a concept if they feel that it will negatively affect their work status in the future.

Skill Reinforcement And Training Validation

Once your employees have completed their training with the right educator, it becomes extremely important for the skills that they developed in the training sessions to be immediately utilized during their normal working tasks. This reinforces the skills that they have worked on and keeps the focus on the applicable nature of the training. It also increases retention of the skills leaned and promotes satisfaction for both the training and their position at work.

It is recommended that between four and six weeks following a training session that the employees who had taken part engage in some sort of follow up process. This follow up process, whether it be a meeting or simply reviewing the key points of the training will serve as a channel for validating the investment the employee has made with their time and the organization has made with their funding. A follow up meeting also allows the employee to provide input as to the effectiveness of the training in relation to their job duties, and can serve as a source of information for improving the training over time to achieve more effective results.

Ultimately, by reinforcing learned skills and validating the application of training in the office an employer can ensure that their training funds are well spent.

Summary

Industry in general is rapidly recognizing that a well trained workforce is generally more efficient. This reduces costs and increases productivity, which can in many cases lead to a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Because training dollars are limited, the choice of training as well as the selection of employees to be trained is a critical managerial task. Careful research should be conducted to select the most effective channel for delivering training. The identification of employees that possess skills that will most benefit the organization to engage in training is of the highest importance.

The choice of whether to use in house training personnel or utilize well recommended contractors for training requires honest examination of the talent available within the organization and the true costs involved in undertaking such a challenge. Generally contracted training organizations arrive with well qualified personnel, a proven training plan, and the proper equipment to conduct their work. Often, the use of an outside contractor for training purposes will save money and achieve the training goals more effectively than the use of in house personnel.

Whoever conducts the training, it is critical that the content of the training be clearly applied to the actual work tasks of those sent to improve their skills. The student must clearly recognize that the training will be useful in their daily duties and improve their ability to complete their work over time. If the student does not see the value, the training will ultimately fail.

Continuous skill development will be critical to your organization’s success over time. Take the time to plan your training endeavors as a strategic asset. After all, you are building human capital in the form of skilled employees who will lead your organization toward success through their work.