How to increase participation in training session

Hi,

In our company, we have recently started a training division, and we are providing various behavioral training to our staff. However, we are facing serious issues with attendance. Hardly 50% of the nominated participants are turning up, resulting in a loss for the Training Division. It is not possible to link training with appraisals as it will not be supported by the other HODs.

I request all of you to kindly provide ideas that may improve attendance. I would also like to know if all companies face similar issues at the beginning.

Hi Tanuja,

Today's rapid change and competitive marketplace have created importance for behavioral competencies. Whether it be any type of organization/business, knowledge, skills, and abilities are vital. Hence, organizations are spending a lot of resources on learning and development to keep their human capital agile. However, employee participation is one of the biggest challenges in such initiatives.

The lack of employee participants in training sessions has many reasons; it may be training content, design, module, employees' priorities, learning needs, motivation, and many more. Simply improving training attendance will not make it effective. To make it effective, kindly address the following points:

1. Gather information/Identify training needs: Gather information on organizational needs - identify employees' skills needed at present and in the future of the organization and identify employees' skill gaps. Partner with business heads and employees in data gathering. Understand employees' feelings, what they want to learn, and prioritize their learning needs.

2. Training content, design, module: Look at the training delivery methods. If employees are not attending classroom training, move away from it. Make training flexible and available through online modules. Ensure it is accessible on mobile devices.

3. Relate it to career advancement: Communicate that training is for career advancement. Encourage learning for future strengths and show them how it prepares them to advance on the career ladder within the organization.

4. Reward milestones: Make training activities important milestones in their career growth. Reward them with cash prizes, gift cards, or certificates of recognition after each training.

5. Value Feedback: There is always room for improvement. Treat employees as your customers and gather their opinions and feedback to enhance the training programs.

Above all, management support and guidance are crucial in training and development initiatives.

Hope this will help you.

Thank you

Dear Tanuja,

This kind of problem arises when the focus of the training programs is on people rather than the organization. Why do we conduct the training? We conduct the training to improve the organization's performance. Therefore, what you need to do is to identify various ratios or costs associated with the business and conduct the training to decrease the cost or increase/decrease some ratio.

A cost-based or ratio-based training is generally focused on the departments, and the Head of Department (HOD) is accountable to show the results. In contrast, in behavioral training, how will you make the participants accountable? In your company, people are reluctant even to attend the training program. Therefore, those who attend must be doing it perfunctorily! Amidst this, the measurement of Return on Investment (ROI) could be far more difficult.

Earlier, I have given a comprehensive reply on the subject of employees. You may click the following link to refer to it: https://www.citehr.com/523786-traini...ml#post2222367

Go through the above reply and start conducting training programs that impact your business. Once you start doing that, you should not face resistance from the HODs.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Make the training relevant.
Make the training interesting.
Make the training participative.
Make the training future oriented
Make the HODS interested and involved in training.
Make the training short and concise as possible.
Finally remember ‘Training is useless without a purpose"
Make the purpose clear and known to all.

Dear Mr. Nathrao,

Sir, no matter how relevant the training might be, no matter how good the trainer who makes the training participative and purposeful, a company requires a culture of learning. Please note that I am saying "culture of learning" and not "culture of training."

I have conducted training programs for industry giants who are not just public limited companies but are also listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. However, I observed that these companies lacked a culture of learning or even training, and there was great apathy towards training programs.

I have been involved in full-time training for the last 11 years. In 99.9% of the companies where I conducted training programs, I found that the sessions never started on time. Most of the time, HR or Training Managers would call the nominated participants and urge them to attend. After 15-20 minutes, they would generally instruct me to start the training without waiting for those who did not show up.

Any culture is always shaped by the leader of the organization, and a culture of learning is no exception. If leadership does not take the initiative to measure ROI in training, why would lower-level staff take an interest?

There are hardly any companies in India that consider employee training as a means to enhance operational effectiveness. Most companies conduct employee training perfunctorily or merely to maintain the company's image, but result-oriented training remains a distant goal.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Mr. Dinesh,

I fully agree with your learned views on the subject. However, my short post was limited to making the particular class interesting for those who finally attend.

I recently conducted a lecture on fire safety and building evacuation, where I noticed that during my fellow officer's lecture, a few people were dozing off. Sometimes, people feel that a fire will not happen in their office and are indifferent. It is tough to change such mindsets of people.

Thank you.

Hi Tanuja,

Greetings.

The information provided by Mr. Divekar and Mr. Nathrao is absolutely on point. When creating a training module, consider factors such as the timing of training, duration of training, organizational culture, participants involved, as well as the interests of Heads of Departments and Management. Training is a continuous process. While few company managements may be hesitant due to the temporary loss of production, it's important to remember that training can lead to increased productivity in the long run. Ultimately, the effectiveness of training depends on how engagingly the trainer conveys the messages to the participants and how deeply they connect with the employees of the company. This requires experience, interest, and alignment with the management's goals to achieve targets.

Best Regards,
R.R. Inamdar
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Dear Madam,

Mr. Raj has laid out a broad canvas of training philosophy. Other learned practicing trainers have shared their practical views and experiences, which should help you with your challenges. Your challenges are not uncommon. You may like to examine the reasons for participants' apathy. You may look at the following:

1. Such challenges occur when there is a disconnect between learning needs and what is offered.
2. Lack of whole-hearted support from HODs if they are not involved in training need identification.
3. Training conducted outside working hours and no time off granted.
4. Training feedback not obtained.
5. Appreciation for attending training given.

Most importantly, training content, methodology, active participation of participants in discussions, and the credibility of the trainer matter a lot for its success.

Regards,
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR Consultant