Training’s role in the employee’s journey goes well beyond their initial weeks at the organization. We have to think about all the opportunities we have to influence their experience. We have to create those special moments that allow them to feel connected to a shared purpose, to each other and to themselves. And while many leaders think of break room games, free lunch and happy hours, we have so many more opportunities to create those special moments.
Leveraging Training to Improve the Employee Experience
What does the employee experience have to do with learning and development (L&D)? A report from Gallup revealed that career growth opportunities is the second most reason employees leave their jobs, which means L&D has a crucial role to play in the employee experience. I spend a lot of time writing and speaking about building trust through training with topics like how people managers can improve employee performance (hint: trust is a huge component) and how to have authentic DEI conversations, so this got me thinking about how we can leverage training to improve the employee experience.
Developing More Than Skills
One way we can leverage training is to keep our focus on the outcomes. We can do more than increase knowledge, and we should because we know that knowledge doesn’t necessarily equate to behavior change.
The first step is to determine which skills are needed in your organization. I highly recommend creating a custom competency model that is tailored to your organization’s goals and needs. This competency model can become a framework for skill development, allowing you to upskill and reskill your employees in exactly the ways you need.
Once you’ve identified the skills that are needed, we can design the training to focus on skill building rather than knowledge sharing. Instructional designers can create relevant, meaningful activities that allow employees to practice these new skills in the safety of a training environment.
And when employees have the opportunity to practice in a safe environment while they build proficiency, you are not only building skills, but you are also building confidence.
When I feel confident and capable in my role and I’m building skills for my next role, I will reflect on my experience in the organization more positively.
Creating Connection
Formal and informal training programs that bring people together in an in-person or virtual environment in real time — basically anything synchronous — provides employees with an opportunity to build trusting relationships. This might include courses, lunch and learns or book clubs. It matters less what the opportunity is and more how it is designed.
We can design these opportunities for employees to build cross-functional relationships, allowing employees to meet people outside of their department or team. These relationships are essential to the success of your diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) efforts because they build empathy and create allies. And, Gallup found that having a friend at work is important to overall productivity and job satisfaction.
How do we create these opportunities?
We can design experiences that lead to increased vulnerability and build trust, comfort, self-awareness and accountability.
When I feel like I can bring my whole self to work because I know and trust the people around me, including my supervisor, I will reflect more positively on my experience in the organization.
Reenergizing Employees
Another often overlooked opportunity we have in L&D is that we can re-energize employees. Training shouldn’t be a dull, check-the-box experience. It can be exciting. It can be fun. It can be energizing.
We’ve seen a huge shift in the industry as we begin to discuss mental health and overall well-being.
According to an American Psychological Association survey of approximately 1,500 U.S. adult workers, 79% of employees report work-related stress. That stress results in energy depletion. The survey also notes that 36% of respondents reported cognitive weariness, 32% emotional exhaustion and 44% physical exhaustion.
Exhaustion deserves rest. But we will never feel completely rested if we aren’t happy at work. This is where training comes in.
A training program that is well-aligned to the employee’s role or future career path can prompt an employee to feel excited about the future.
A training program that builds skills can help employees understand their capacity and set boundaries.
A training program that builds cross-functional relationships can give employees a glimpse into other career paths and alternative roles.
When I feel reenergized at work, I will reflect on my experience in the organization more positively.
How Does It Feel to Work Here?
This is the question you need to ask when considering the employee experience. Ask yourself this question. Ask your teams this question. Ask your colleagues this question. Make changes and ask again. Keep asking and keep adapting. The work is never done because the employee experience never ends. It’s constantly evolving — just like the employees themselves.
