Our last blog was about the importance of learning in a remote work environment.

This blog goes one step further by telling you about the different ways you can train your employees to work remotely. But before we get into that, let’s take a look at those important findings from the last blog.

• Upskilling is the process of learning new skills in order to improve your current skills.
• Continuing education can benefit both the company and its employees.
• It is because of the need of the hour
• The post-pandemic situation where working from home is the solution. Forbes reports suggest that significant digital transformation during the pandemic is causing companies to increasingly participate in training.
• Continuing education is essential for professionals to deal with the rampant technological changes.
• Benefits of continuing education
• Entrepreneurs can keep their workforce
• Save recurring hiring costs and time
• Overall improvement in employee performance
• Helps with self-analysis
• Increases the level of productivity
• For better organizational skills

Now is the time to learn how to implement the upskilling process. In order to manifest these benefits, you need to employ different training techniques and methods in your company. Whether working in-house or remotely, improving skills is the way to go.

How can you train your employees?

1. Plan interesting activities

Career opportunities make every employee work hard. These golden opportunities act as a driving force for employees. They look forward to these opportunities to significantly improve their careers. In addition, 93% of modern workers expect their employers to provide learning opportunities. Therefore, companies should plan further training measures from time to time.

However, as a small business owner, you should be aware that each person who works in your company may have different learning skills. As a result, an everyday activity or plan may not work equally well for everyone. Therefore, you should divide the activities according to the learning pace, strengths and needs of the employees.

For example, some employees have excellent communication skills, while others are technical. Therefore, activities should be in place for both groups of professionals.

1. Peer coaching

The example from the first point leads us to the second point – peer coaching. Two or more employees can work together to hone new skills and help them. You can teach and solve each other’s problems.

Peer coaching enables employees to develop a broader range of skills in the workplace. The good thing is that coworkers don’t necessarily have to work formally. It is more convenient for them to observe, learn, and ask questions with one another.

1. Peer mentoring

Peer coaching and peer mentoring may sound similar, and probably are to a lesser extent. The difference is that peer coaching usually involves two or more colleagues at the same level / position, while peer mentoring refers to when a young colleague is trained by an older colleague. Mentoring is a multi-layered process that can span several levels, while coaching is a lateral process.

For example, a content author can collaborate with a content developer on the same tier to collaborate and oversee a project. It’s an example of peer coaching.

A senior content strategist leading the team on a specific project is an example of peer mentoring.

1. Get feedback and work on it

Small business owners need to emphasize knowing the capabilities of any remote assistant. Therefore, it is also important to follow or observe the work pattern of the employees. Memorizing the work style of the employees can help you enormously when planning further training measures.

Also, remember to take feedback from employees. Feedback is a two-way process and companies should practice soliciting feedback from employees about work or customers. Asking employees how their day is going is also part of looking for feedback. It helps you know if you need guidance or specific help to complete demanding tasks. Employee reviews are essential for a company to increase productivity.

1. Personal learning opportunities

Self-analysis is an excellent tool because everyone is aware of their past experiences, their current work status and their future opportunities. There should be activities to help them identify their strengths and weaknesses. The first step in getting better at something is to identify the areas that you are missing. Self-analysis questionnaires and reports can show meaningful results in the long run.

Employees like personal learning opportunities because interacting with them doesn’t require interference from others. Individuals don’t have to count their weaknesses in front of a colleague. Hence, they are likely to get more involved in these activities.

1. Regular workshops

Continuing education through regular workshops is an effective way to achieve your goals and ensure that employees learn new things. Individuals like the concept of workshops because it is divided into learning modules. The structure usually begins with an introduction and with each step you have to understand something new.

Some companies work with subject matter experts and specialists to run the workshops. These workshops also include reviewers and Q / As to assess employee growth.

1. Training courses

Short-term training courses are a young phenomenon that is popular among experts. Individuals can take continuing education courses on these verified and highly rated dedicated platforms. The bonus is that some courses are available for free. So, if a person has recently started work and doesn’t have the resources for a long-term, formal course, they can start with the free courses.

Some well-known platforms are Coursera and Udemy. Virtual courses introduced by these platforms have proven helpful for employees.

Many companies, like Wishup, offer in-house training courses for employees. You can check out the next blog in our upskilling series to learn more about the courses that Wishup has to offer.

Indirect opportunities for further training for the workforce

Upgrading your staff doesn’t mean there has to be a course label or workshop to ensure the process. You can also choose these indirect paths, which can be helpful for further qualification.

1. Build trust in the workplace

Trust building is important to the growth of an organization. A lack of mutual trust leads employees to leave the company as soon as they get another great opportunity.

In general, employees with less experience tend to make a few mistakes at first. However, as an aspiring entrepreneur, you need to give these employees a fair chance to raise their profile. Employer-led encouragement sessions can make a big difference and benefit the company.

1. Employee reward

Rewards and monetary recognition are essential for every employee. They are motivating factors that people value as a bonus to their salary. In addition, the competence development of the employees primarily benefits the organization. After all, the specialists only apply what they have learned at their workplace and ultimately help the company to increase profits.

Rewards also lead to healthy competition among employees. As a manager, however, you should always make sure that the competition does not negatively impact the work environment.

1. Conducting seminars, interviews & conferences

Communication that flows from one to many has a positive effect on employees. Seminars usually involve a successful mentor in a specific area who chooses a public speaking platform to target individuals. These gatherings have a high visitor frequency, regardless of whether they are organized virtually or physically.

Similarly, interviews contain live autobiographical stories told by successful professionals. Interviews revolve around the Q-and-A pattern. In this way, the interviewer can ask questions on behalf of several employees in order to know how to cope with a challenging situation. When you hear success stories like this, you will be influenced to create one around you. This is an indirect form of upskilling as it motivates employees to find effective ways to accomplish a challenging task.

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Upskilling vs. Micromanagement: Which Approach Should You Take?

Knowingly or unknowingly, small business founders can get stuck in the loop of micromanagement. When it happens you should always know to stick with micromanaging because –

1. You lose connection with employees: Micromanagement leads to a clear hierarchy. Employees feel they are working for someone else’s organization; it can never be her own.
2. A touch of nervousness sets in: Employees begin to work under fear when entrepreneurs micromanage everything. They are always nervous that their “boss” is overseeing them.
3. No growth: There is no growth without autonomy. Employees must have a certain degree of independence and freedom in carrying out their work in order to pave the way for development – both for themselves and for the company.

Upgrading follows a progressive path, while micromanagement leads back to conservatism. And a true leader would always take the progressive approach.

Also, keep in mind that micromanagement can never be an effective home working solution if you offer completely remote jobs. This is because remote assistants typically don’t have uniform layers, unlike the in-office culture where flexibility is impossible. So when you micromanage in a remote setup, you add to your workload.

On the other hand, training is a successful strategy, regardless of whether employees work in the office or from home.

Now that you are well informed about the different training opportunities, you are sure to be wondering which courses to take. You can start reading Wishup’s Short Education Courses here!