What are four characteristics of an effective training program that allow employees to...

To have Continuous Learning and Development is key for creating a sustainable and competitive enterprise. Corporations budget and spend millions a year to train their employees to build competencies to gain s competitive advantage in the market.  Generally, companies mix different modes of training like Synchronous (more commonly known as classroom training) and Asynchronous (digital or electronic training).  An effective training program will carefully design each training ingredient (content, learning outcomes, instructional methods, and delivery media) to achieve optimal results.  An effective training program usually combines hard and soft skills development.  But regardless the modes of training, training design should be done as a structured learning environment with the goal in mind of improving workplace performance in ways that are aligned with bottom-line business goals. There are actually FIVE characteristics to consider:

Training must be Structured to be effective. An effective training environment is designed to optimize learning both during and after the training event - all the way to the workplace.  A structured process and a structured product will minimize inconsistency in learning environments and will align instructional material to job-essential knowledge and skills.

Have an effective training environment. Learning in the workplace is moving from the traditional series of isolated training events to environments that incorporate diverse knowledge resources such as repositories of examples, performance templates, and access to expertise, along with traditional events in face-to-face and virtual media.  This kind of environment produces a body of knowledge that is flexible and responsive to changes in both the trainee as well as the workplace environment.

Training must be Engineered to be effective. Effective learning environments do not happen by accident.  An effective learning environment must be the product of a structured process and proven instructional methods matched to your content.

Workplace Performance. An effective training program begins with the job and ends with the job.  It must include guidelines, examples, and exercises that are job-relevant and ensures a stable outcome of performance when the training is applied in the workplace.

Business Goals. An effective training program focuses on knowledge and skills.  These must be aligned to core organizational objectives.  For instance, in conducting training for communication skills, an effective learning design defines specific behaviors associated with the types of communications needed to support organizational objectives.