8 ways to improve IT training - develop people, make them better

We think too easily about training our people, often we even forget or rely on self-management. These are the 8 most common (thinking) mistakes in IT training. Whether you are looking for more productivity or want more quality in digital transformation, training and training your people is important. But unfortunately many organizations treat training as a side issue, too much reliance on the employee's own responsibility and if something is done it is often purely theoretical and not practice-oriented. Because experts often forget what it is like to be a beginner, the IT department often sees new technologies as intuitive and easy to learn. This assumption causes many failures in IT training. After all, a successful implementation of a new application falls or stands in the right course if it means that users have to undergo a radical change in the way processes have to be handled. Following are eight of the most common mistakes IT organizations make as it involves training, whether it is a specific technology or professional development in general. Think of it as an informal training session in how you can carry out training correctly.

1. Assume that self-training is sufficient

Online video manuals, FAQ documents and things like that are common in IT training. In contrast to classroom education, they are cheap and easy to scale. But focusing on costs is not always wise. If training material is not used, they have little value. And of what we know, self-training is not very popular. The data on online education shows that the majority of your users will not complete their training. Less than 6 percent of the people who start with an open online course (MOOC) from Harvard or MIT obtain a certificate, according to an edX survey. But with the right structure and incentives you can do better. Seth Godins altMBA claims that more than 90 percent complete a study. The program runs for four weeks and has limited participation, so it is structurally different from most MOOCs. So you will have to insert something compelling in your online training instead of trusting that users can force themselves.

2. Do not convey why training is needed

"It is quite difficult to master a new piece of software if you do not have a project or activity where you can apply it," says Peters. "If the whole learning process remains hypothetical, how can you apply what you have learned when a project eventually comes in? If I work in Excel and do not know how to do something, I look it up. result in mind, and because I apply it directly, there is a greater chance that I remember it."

If your training is meant to change behavior and routines, it is important that you explain why the training program is needed. "Many software training programs contain 'how do you do something' and 'how does it look', but you do not want to do that in the software," says Eric Peters, senior growth marketing manager at HubSpot Academy, an online training program for sales. and marketing software products from HubSpot. "That is the difference between documentation and training in my view: the 'why' is especially important because it connects the software with the desired result of the user." In order to address the 'why' problem, HubSpot has a simple three-part structure in its training. "Each class is structured in three parts: Why, How, What", explains Peters. This approach reduces the likelihood that users will lose weight because they miss out on the overall purpose of the technical change. 3. No practical applications after the training is complete If employees are not given opportunities to put into practice what they have learned, they will feel less involvement in the training and will quickly forget much of what they have learned. "It is quite difficult to master a new piece of software if you do not have a project or activity where you can apply it," says Peters. "If the whole learning process remains hypothetical, how can you apply what you have learned when a project eventually comes in? If I work in Excel and do not know how to do something, I look it up. result in mind, and because I apply it directly, there is a greater chance that I remember it." To prevent such mistakes, you can look at training in the context of current projects and the objectives of people. As Dan Pink explains in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth or What Motivates Us, many people are motivated at work by gaining mastery in the professional field. By linking the IT training to the career goals of your employee you can achieve more. "I have learned to get insight in everyone's learning style, some people work better when they get a book with the assignment to study, others want to get started with applications of the material." Some prefer a one-on-one training. A mixed approach delivers the most success ", says Janet Brown, CIO at legal bookkeeper GCG.

4. Think of training later

Your organization has just bought new software. When do you reap the benefits? If you forget supporting training, it can take a long time, if it succeeds. "CIOs and IT leaders invest in software with the expectation that their organization will see return on investment Training with the software will speed up the time to value for the organization, ensures that employees can use the full potential of the software and reduce the risk of being used in the wrong way, "explains Peters. If your organization strives for a transformative strategy or introduces completely new software, avoid thinking about training until the end.

5. Do not invest in personal development

"Contrary to what some believe, as an employer you will have loyal employees if you offer them opportunities for personal development and ongoing career growth opportunities"

If you equip your employees with the most modern and great skills, will they leave your organization for a better job elsewhere? That is the silent fear that causes so much damage to IT training within many organizations. But not every organization shares that vision. "Contrary to what some believe, as an employer you will have loyal employees if you offer them opportunities for personal development and ongoing career growth opportunities", says Kathie Miley, COO at online training platform Cybrary, who offers courses and practice rooms for IT skills and certificates. . Some certificates such as the Project Management Professional (PMP) require continuous education to keep up. If that is not possible, your employees will wonder what value the company sees in them. If you do not give training opportunities, you will be overtaken by other organizations. According to the Brandon Hall Group that researched this, a majority of US companies spend more than $ 1,000 a year for training for the senior managers. That is a good indication that training is necessary for everyone, not just new employees who enter your organization.

6. Do not make a lab available in the learning process

"A general weakness in IT training materials is that it is too much theory and not enough practice.The challenge is to find a lab environment or equipment that someone can really use to improve their routine through practical experiences"

Online training programs that teach coding have recently emerged as mushrooms. For example CodeAcademy teaches HTML, Python, JavaScript, PHP and SQL. The platform also has a lab environment where you can see the code you write and get feedback on. It is not as sophisticated as an instructor in front of you, but feedback from a lab environment is also valuable. The possibilities to experiment - to build a 'product' - is a valuable way to translate the abstract training concepts into practical skills. "A general weakness in IT training materials is that it is too much theory and not enough practice.The challenge is to find a lab environment or equipment that someone can really use to improve their routine through practical experiences", explains Jamie Boughman, technically Director managed services at Carousel Industries.

7. No programmatic training approach

"Some managers are struggling to think ahead and always react in a reactive mode when it comes to training - a more programmatic approach - looking at the skills in your team in relation to the work of the future - gives you the chance to start training to fill future gaps "

What happens if a few important people leave the IT department at the same time? If you have neglected training, you will probably have great difficulty closing the gap. In addition to accepting people, you will also have to send your current people irrevocably to the course. Such an attitude towards training does not work. "Some managers are struggling to think ahead and always react in a reactive mode when it comes to training - a more programmatic approach - looking at the skills in your team in relation to the work of the future - gives you the chance to start training to fill future gaps ", says Philip Casesa, director of product management at Focal Point Data Risk.

8. Have unrealistic expectations of books

"Books provide a passive learning experience - although many people can pick something up from books, nothing is more than hands-on in learning new materials Buying books for staff and calling them training will not produce good results in the longer term"

Books are fine to share information but they have considerable limitations when it comes to technical training. The Voor Dummies series, for example, is great at communicating technical subjects to beginners. But for advanced professionals, the exclusive trust in books is less suitable. "Books provide a passive learning experience - although many people can pick something up from books, nothing is more than hands-on in learning new materials Buying books for staff and calling them training will not produce good results in the longer term", says Casesa. Books can help in professional development in a broader sense. When it comes to personal productivity, reading The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker or Getting Things Done by David Allen is mandatory. The same can be said about books on communication skills such as Crucial Conversations. If managers are planning to develop and grow their teams, training is inevitable. Take a good look at the above mistakes and use them to improve your training program. Connect the training with the opportunities that exist in the organization. Use a mix of training methods - external facilities, online courses and books - to be able to deal with it flexibly. And finally, never forget the career goals of the people in your organization and see what you can do to help them achieve those goals.