7 Tips for Effective In-House Training

Many businesses share the same story--they recognize the need for employee training and make an attempt to organize it, but their in-house training efforts somehow fail to have any impact on the company's efficiency or bottom line. No outside training consultant knows your business as well as you and your team do, and that knowledge share can make a huge impact on your employees' performance.
Yet, the business landscape is littered with stories of an in-house training programs gone awry.  Some are the result of efforts not fully supported by management; other programs faded into oblivion due to a lack of follow-through. One area business has bucked this trend and shares their tips for creating a successful in-house training program.

Like those at most other accounting and tax professional firms, employees at New York City–based Citrin Cooperman have a mandated set of courses—continuing professional education credits that are required to maintain their CPA designation. In addition to that, the firm has created an in-house training program, Citrin Cooperman University, that teaches “soft skills” such as business writing, networking, and public speaking.
Citrin Cooperman University is now in its fifth year and has been successful due in part to senior leadership’s commitment to the program and their willingness to use the feedback they receive from employees and clients to evolve the program. While businesses from different industries will most likely have differing training needs, the following advice should help navigate the in-house training process.
Tip No. 1: Create an in-house training program that helps both the firm and its employees. Training programs need to be about more than preparing employees to make the company more profitable. They should also teach skills that allow employees to advance their careers at their current employer. In-house training should help line workers become supervisors, and help supervisors become executives. Think of it as a plan to create the next generation of leaders at your business instead of having to hire them from outside, which is much more expensive and risky to the company’s culture.
Tip No. 2: Communicate the benefits of the program. Even though attendance is mandatory, a company should reinforce why not just attendance, but employees’ active participation, is good for them and the company. When training and its results are tied into career paths, it makes participation more real and tangible. Many employees will be neutral about the program, but simple communications can convert them to fans.

Tip No. 3: Don’t be afraid to tweak the program from year to year. Training programs meet the changing needs of the business and its employees. Citrin Cooperman’s program has been successful from the beginning, yet it still has changed at least a little each year. During the first year, teachers were supplied by a respected learning center, and the company relied on an outside training firm to get the program running.

Feedback from training participants indicated that the courses would be more effective if they were taught by the firm’s partners. They found that the partners’ ability to communicate their real-world experience was the most important element of each course.

Tip No. 4: Hold in-house training on company time, and offsite. Holding the training during the normal workday will cost the company money in lost productivity, but it shows the company’s commitment to and investment in the program. The same can be said for holding the training offsite. Citrin Cooperman wanted to create a college-like classroom environment for their people.  The courses were taught at a local learning center, equipped with classroom settings. Additionally, the lure of the computer, voicemail, and email is too great for many employees when the training is held at your place of business. Offsite courses prevent employees from slipping out of a training session for “just a minute” to send or respond to an email. It also prevents the temptation for a supervisor to pull an employee out of the training session to ask “one quick question.”

Tip No. 5: Make it mandatory. If the in-house training is not mandatory, employees will believe it’s not necessary. This also prevents immediate supervisors from pressuring staff not to attend in order to work on a current project.

Tip No. 6: Don’t listen to the small faction of naysayers. Every company has a small group of employees, and even managers, who find fault with various elements of any program, no matter how well it is designed and conceived. Forget about finding a perfect or convenient time for everyone. It doesn’t exist.

Tip No. 7: Train different levels of employees in different groups. Senior executives may feel awkward training with lower-level employees. Conversely, entry-level employees may feel intimidated speaking up or asking questions in front of a senior level manager.

Done the right way, an in-house training program can help any company grow its business, improve the morale of employees, and retain valued workers for the long term. Commitment, follow-through, and a willingness to improve the training based on feedback are the keys to success.