Even the largest and longest running organizations need successful IT training programs, when they upgrade systems, hire new talent, alter their service offerings or tweak their business practices. While it can be easy to get caught up in sales and expansion, training lays an important groundwork for internal success that will be instrumental in attaining the business goals set out by your company. It’s important not to overlook or undervalue training, as you never want to run the risk of having unfamiliar individuals holding the reins to your technology or assets.

Here are a number of factors to consider, in order to create a successful IT training program:

Planning Ahead: Avoiding ad-hoc Training

Successful IT training programs have one fundamental focal point: they’re programs. This means that they’re premeditated, planned out and accounted for, instead of officers attempting to come up with training assets on the fly. Whether you’re teaching processes, environments, basic usability or otherwise, plan ahead with your IT training, instead of leaving it for the last minute.

In order to create the optimal IT training environment, you’ll need to be able to assess the needs of your team, your software or environment and balance them with company goals and milestones. Do you need to increase productivity? Is security and central concern? Does your customer service staff need more hands on time with your product? Utilize your short-term and long-term goals along side your employee expectations, to create a more successful IT training regiment.

Upgrading and Accepting Feedback

Don’t forget that this is a commitment that should contain legacy materials that you can build on for when you need to upgrade, expand or otherwise adapt your methods to drive your IT training regiment. As technical solutions evolve and grow at such a rapid pace (along with many business markets), training needs to be looked at as an ongoing process. As new modules, updates, services expansions or other changes are made to the software uses by your team, they should be receiving instructions on how to properly make use of these new developments to their fullest.

Just as ideation is a multifaceted practice, so too is successful IT training. Feedback and evaluation are central tenants in effective learning, if your organization is going to continue to improve. While team members should feel motivated to give constructive criticism on training materials and protocol, management should actively evaluate the effectiveness of your IT training efforts, to find methods for enhancement and efficiency. Don’t be afraid to involve any vendors providing third-party or custom software to your company, as they will likely have an expertise that will add legitimacy to your IT training programs, as well as having a more intimate knowledge of the materials your organization is going to be learning on.

In the Office and Online

Software elements often have embedded features highlights how-to processes and training opportunities. These can be utilized to improve IT training, as they live directly within the programs your employees can receive training in. If this is internal software, have your developers create easily accessible help files, internal FAQs and other assets that your employees are notified about. Make training collateral readily available in the office, through HR, team leaders and project managers, so any team member can easily get a hold of it.

e-Learning initiatives can have a major impact on successful IT training, as they make storing and upgrading materials easier, simplify feedback and allow for uncomplicated and timely delivery to employees, managers, and any other stakeholders. It allows for automation to alleviate many time concerns, while allowing you to make more efficient use of collected data that can inform future practices. Ease of access surrounding e-learning means people can continue learning outside of work, to refresh their knowledge base at any time, without having to be at their desk.

The cycle of successful IT training may take some time to set up but is a key component to an effective business. Contact us, to learn more about ways we can help. For more insights on IT training, business evolution and industry news, please connect with us on LinkedIn.