Employees seek end to out-of-date training practices

Companies that rely on old-fashioned training methods could be driving their employees away, one expert has indicated.

Katie Ivie, HR director at Recruitment firm Kelly Services, spoke to HR Magazine about new research carried out by her company that found only half of UK workers believe the instruction rolled out by their managers is good enough to boost their skills and further their career.

According to Ms Ivie, staff no longer want to receive traditional training and two-thirds are even seeking education outside of their workplace.

"Individuals are starting to take responsibility for their own progression, which is great to see, but the problem is they are becoming more valuable in the workplace and attractive to rival employers," she was quoted as saying.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index  also revealed a number of organisations are missing out on opportunities by failing to offer appropriate education relevant to their workers.

Ms Ivie claimed when firms are struggling with their financial resources, the training budget is always the first to be hit and this could damage companies that are already losing the trust of their staff as a result of "worn-out" models.

And this problem is not just confined to the UK - the index indicated that 60 per cent of employees worldwide are either actively seeking further education to develop their career (23 per cent) or considering it (37 per cent).

It was recommended by Ms Ivie that organisations undertake a training needs analysis looking at performance-based data and employee feedback in order to build a learning programme that would satisfy the needs of both the workforce and the company.

She said: "Remembering that people learn in different ways, it's important to consider a blended learning approach and to consider adopting policies that support external training."

This could mean turning to the services of an online learning provider like Virtual College, which offers a range of digital modules that employees could access in their spare time to avoid interfering with a busy working schedule.