Working in HR is always a challenging job. You have one of the most diverse roles in your business, and a lot of people rely on you to make sure that they can do their work, making it crucial that you’re always on top of the things you have to do.
Training will be a big part of this, with teams which have the best training always finding it easier to work on their own and without help from the management. Of course, though, making training resources can be a real challenge, and a lot of people don’t know the best way to go.
To help you out with this, this post will be exploring some of the best materials to make, along with some tips and tricks to help you along the way.
Hand Outs
Paper handouts are essential in some training environments, giving those being trained the chance to take something away which will act as a reminder in the future. These can accompany a slideshow or other form of media, but should include as much information as possible. If you’re trying to teach a procedure to your team, it could be worth giving them a step by step guide, as this will prove to be very helpful as time goes on.
Tools like Google Docs are perfect for this, providing you with a platform which enables you to make PDF documents without having to pay for it.
It can be tricky to use at first, though there are plenty of guides around the web which can help you out with this. It’s crucial that these are clear and concise, while making it very easy for new team members to pick things up. Using the same formatting, color schemes, and design elements will help with this, especially if you make a lot of training documents.
A professional designer will be able to help you with this, though this won’t be essential when you’re training people internally. Instead, you can rely on your own skills or those of your employees to create your training materials. They don’t need to look perfect or win design awards, but they need to be as clear as possible.
Video Resources
Video is one of the best teaching tools available to HR teams. It’s hard to misinterpret a video, with most people finding them nice and easy to follow, and having little trouble soaking up the information they need from them.
Making videos isn’t going to be easy, but it will be well worth it if you work in a challenging environment with a lot of complex tasks and procedures to follow.
This process will start with a script and storyboard, as you will need to plan the videos you want to make before you start working on them properly. This should go through each scene, covering everything in the right order to make it as clear to your teams as possible.
Recording your voice to go over the videos can be a good idea, though this isn’t necessary if you’d prefer to have text on the screen. Of course, though, you’re still going to have the challenge of filming and editing the shots before they can be used for anything.
There are loads of companies out there that work with businesses to create videos like this.
- Examples like Zip in Media Productions LLC have a long history of providing excellent quality videos to companies in need of something more professional for their training. While this will cost some money, you will be able to use the videos time and time again, and this could save a lot of hassle in the future. It’s always worth keeping in mind that time you have to spend training people is costing your employer money.
Using Existing Resources
Making your own resources for specific tasks which other companies won’t do makes a lot of sense, though making ones which repeat the same message as other businesses will be a waste of time. This makes it well worth looking around for resources before you decide to make them for yourself, just in case you can find something which will work.
Google will be your friend while you’re doing this, but you will have to make sure that you’re using resources which are freely available.
You can often buy training resources if you want to, though this is probably where you’d want to start thinking about making your own. YouTube can also be very useful, with loads of people posting training videos on this site. Everything on platforms like this will be free to use, making it an excellent resource which you will struggle to run dry, even when you work in a very specific type of business.
When you find resources like this on paper, you can look for ways to add your own touches to them, editing them to make them more relevant to the work your team is doing. Images are usually much better than words when you’re trying to teach people something. Of course, though, everyone will respond to different learning styles, and this is something you have to think about when you’re going through this process.
As time goes on, more and more resources are hitting the web which are designed to help small businesses to train their staff.
You can also pay companies to come and handle all of this work for you, from the resources to the lessons themselves. This may not be ideal for everyone, but will be a great way for you to take the pressure off if you’re already working very hard.
The life of an HR manager is much more than simply training people, and you will always have a lot on your plate.
With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to take on the challenge of creating training resources for your business. A lot of people struggle with work like this, finding it hard to know what needs to be done when they are stuck trying to train the masses. Of course, though, making your own resources is always a great option.
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