Workplace learning 'must reflect' following training

Reflection following company training sessions and engaging with employees' emotions could be the key to successful workplace learning practices.

Allowing staff to digest the information they have been presented with properly and contextualise it is likely to be crucial to whether they actually remember it or not, and apply it to their day-to-day activities.

Particularly with online learning platforms, which are fast becoming the easiest and most effective way of delivering training materials to employees, it is important that managers give workers time to process the education they have received mentally and emotionally.

Information can be provided instantly through mobile and digital training resources, but it must be put into practice and pondered before being truly valuable.

The great thing about e-learning is that staff can access it whenever - and wherever - they like, without being limited to the office or work smartphone.

As long as they have a password and are able to get onto the company network, they can look up training resources and refresh their knowledge about workplace policies when it suits them.

But in order for this to benefit the organisation, employers should encourage their workforce to deal with this education emotionally, as they will be more likely to remember it in future.

Learning and development consultancy Zostera agrees, and has claimed in a post for Training Zone that "it makes sense for people to have a deeper level of knowledge which would allow them to apply the learning in a wider variety of contexts and/or develop them as a more rounded professional".

Manual training sessions regularly include reflection, and if the same could be said about online learning then bosses could be well on their way to cracking workplace education.

They may want to turn to the services of firms like Virtual College, which provides computer-based modules in various areas of company policy, including health and safety, hygiene, moving and handling, customer care and fire safety and evacuation.