According to the 2014 Corporate Learning Factbook, corporate training in 2013 grew an impressive 15 percent over the previous year, to $70 billion in the United States and $130 billion worldwide. More than ever, companies are realizing the importance—and value—of providing top-notch training opportunities to their employees.
However, organizations must understand the difference between training and development. Employees can receive instruction on how to perform their jobs, but that doesn’t mean they are necessarily becoming more valuable to the company. Development simply isn’t teaching a worker, but investing in that worker, who in turn becomes an asset. Today’s tablet-based training initiatives are redefining this gap. The innovation behind these solutions, which employ iPads and other portable devices, is expanding the commitment, engagement, and potential of your workforce. Here are some ways tablets highlight the difference between training and development:
Far Less Boredom
Traditional corporate training methods come with a major drawback—they are often tedious. This boredom can lead to disinterested, disengaged, and, ultimately, undeveloped employees. Dynamic tablet-based solutions undo this disadvantage by creating training content that will appeal to the average worker. In the long run, employees who are less bored are more likely to work diligently and not leave for another job at the first hint of dissatisfaction.
Deeper Learning
Besides the boredom factor, training strategies also must deal with the effectiveness and comprehension of the content employees are consuming. Say a worker is reading a training manual on a process he or she must learn. Even if the employee is actively trying to understand the material, pages upon pages of written instructions can overwhelm even the most eager worker. Many people remember studying in high school and how the material sometimes didn’t stick beyond a test. The same thing can happen in the workplace—an employee experiences dull content yet can’t apply the “learned” knowledge a couple days later. Tablets offer a way to make training content more impressive and effective. The difference between training and development becomes obvious—these new approaches enrich employees in the short term and the long term.
An Interactive Process
Tablet-based solutions more easily incorporate video—instead of reading about a how a rollout should be executed, for example, employees can watch how it’s achieved. Step-by-step, visually aided training content (not necessarily video) can also guide new hires and experienced workers through the aspects of their jobs essential to their success as well as the success of the company. The trend toward gamification also creates more interactive training, as eLearning becomes a goal instead of a requirement. Adding tablets to your training efforts fosters this development, producing employees dedicated to helping your company’s success.
Empowered Employees
If you are not careful, training can become too much of a task and less of a process. Employees who are encouraged to offer feedback and suggestions, ask questions, and collaborate—often with the aid of tablet technology—with others on projects and procedures become part of the process rather than a drone commanded to complete the task. Moreover, employees whose opinions are valued by co-workers, managers, and execs become more invested in their jobs. In other words, they are experiencing development instead of just being trained.
What do you see as the major difference between training and development?
