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Workshops: Training tools for best results

Competition, scarcity of talent and employee retention have led to an increase in the demand for training workshops.

In a competitive job market scenario with high workforce mobility, organisations are finding it increasingly difficult to retain talent. No longer is it a function of just pay packages. Growth oriented employees prefer to stay with a company that offers them enough learning rather than just a hefty pay-package. An important component of learning and development is training initiatives by a company. Nowadays, workshops are increasingly being used as a tool to train employees.

Explaining the basic nature of training process, Udit Mittal, MD Unison International says, "Training of employees takes place after orientation takes place. Training is the process of enhancing the skills, capabilities and knowledge of employees for doing a particular job. Training process moulds the thinking of employees and leads to quality performance of employees. It is continuous and never ending in nature. Training is crucial for organisational development and success. It is fruitful to both employers and employees of an organisation. An employee will become more efficient and productive if he is trained well. Training can be effectively imparted through workshops. The aim of workshops is to discuss experiences and scenarios. By the same account, the workshop is designed to illustrate good practice for conducting foresights and discuss strategies how to cope with the new challenges in the company."

How can workshops be used as an effective tool of training? "In a workshop, you learn from experience – experience of other people, your peers and your focus groups. And in working together to find a solution to a problem, the groups are pushed to bring their skills to the fore thereby training their team mates. The advantage in workshop training is that the peers who have gone through similar situations are better positions to advise their teams on the common pitfalls to avoid thereby saving on time in problem resolution," says a spokesperson from Sify Technologies.

How do workshops compare against other methods of training used in companies? "Each type of training has it pros and cons. The usual methods of training are mentorship, skill rotation, induction and of course workshops. While induction and skill rotations are usually used earlier in the candidate tenure, mentorship is adopted when the candidate is recognised as having the potential to go higher in the corporate ladder and is then taken under the wings of the management and trained accordingly", adds the spokesperson.

So if you think conducting a workshops is the biggest challenge of them all, revisit your assumptions. Following it up and evaluating results might be even tougher. Plan it scientifically and stepwise to ensure the best outcome!

- Unnati Narang