Most companies are already aware that training initiatives are a good investment. Training involves teaching employees specific skills and behaviours to help improve their work performance, progress in their careers, and reveal more growth opportunities.
As for where to conduct these training efforts, organisations can choose to do it within or outside the workplace. But before you choose one option over the other, you should understand that both forms of training have advantages and disadvantages. To help you decide on the best way to train your employees, we will discuss the pros and cons of training employees within the workplace.
Advantages of In-House Training
Choosing to train your employees through internal sources means making sufficient adjustments to accommodate training within the workplace. If you want to go for in-house training, here are some of the advantages your organisation can stand to gain from this approach:
Cost Savings
Signing up for seminars, conferences, and workshops outside the office requires allocating a fixed portion of your budget. You pay for travel, accommodation, and cost per delegate, among other expenses.
For in-house training, you simply invite a professional to provide expert guidance throughout the training programme. Instead of funnelling money into off-site training, you only need to pay based on the trainer’s rates per session. It allows you to expend fewer resources and potentially set aside more funds for other company expenses.
Convenience
Off-site training sessions can be time-consuming since they often disrupt normal office operations. Employees may have to take days off to travel for training. On-site training enables your employees to allocate enough time for sessions and promptly return to their tasks after finishing their training. It prevents hindrances to team productivity and allows projects to stay on track towards completion.
Customisation
Unlike external training, which entails the use of pre-prepared training materials, in-house training allows you to have more control. As such, in-house training tends to be more flexible and accommodating to industry-specific requirements. You can work with your designated training expert to develop programme outlines and topic areas relevant to your team.
Opportunities for Team Building
Having an avenue for team building is another benefit your organisation can gain from in-house training. Training sessions within the work environment are more focused and collaborative, allowing stronger bonds and employee retention to flourish. Through teamwork and group bonding, your employees can boost their morale and heighten their level of awareness as part of a team.
Disadvantages of In-House Training
Despite the benefits that come with training employees within your walls, there are also some cons to consider before going ahead with this option.
Extra Burden on Admin
While internal training gives you full rein over resource and schedule planning, this can burden your administrative team with more work. Additional responsibilities may include finding suitable training areas, sourcing and distributing training materials, and determining subject areas each session must cover. It can be time-consuming and hamper business operations, especially if you have a small admin workforce.
No Opportunities for Networking
One of the benefits of training off-site is the opportunity to connect with others within or outside the same industry. Interacting with fellow delegates offers your employees a chance to make industry connections that may contribute to your lead generation efforts. Unfortunately, in-house training is insulated and limits team opportunities to network.
Potentially Outdated Training Content
While in-house training allows you to customise programmes based on your organisational needs, there is still the possibility that your training sessions may not reflect the latest industry practices. Passing on irrelevant or inaccurate information to your team may not have the desired results from training.
Unlike in-house training sessions, off-site programmes are tailored around current events and updates in the industry. It would be wise to coordinate with a reliable training partner to help you develop a programme that is up-to-date with industry-relevant best practices.
Lack of Engagement
Holding training sessions within the office might leave your employees distracted from your organisation’s urgent needs. In the worst cases, your employees may want to skip training altogether to focus on more pressing everyday tasks.
Employees also may not take in-house training sessions seriously and have difficulty sustaining interest and engagement. A training programme that’s not effectively planned out will only lead to your team getting bored with generic, irrelevant information that will not add any value to their roles.
To maintain employee interest, you may need the expertise of a training expert. Working with a capable coach or professional can help you develop an effective strategy for an in-house training programme that stays fresh, interesting, and timely.
Should You Invest in In-House Training? It All Depends on You!
There is no definitive answer as to whether in-house initiatives are better than external programmes. In the end, your decision on internal training largely depends on your organisation’s culture, priorities, and long-term goals.
If you think that coming up with a training strategy is too overwhelming, you can always enlist the skills of a reliable expert. Priority Management offers in-house training assistance and public and virtual courses designed to stay relevant to the modern workforce. Whether you go for in-house or off-site training, the most important thing is that you are actively investing in the future of your employees and organisation.
Check Priority Management Australia’s online courses today.