2021 Top 3 Workplace Training Challenges – and How to Handle Them

Effective workplace training is important to every employer because it’s about investing in their most valuable resource: their people.  Training your workers effectively in 2021 may be an extra complicated process.  Below are some of the challenges employers could face in workplace training this year, as well as some suggestions from MP’s HR services team on how to address them.  

Top 3 Challenges in Workplace Training for 2021 

1. Remote Training: When you’re managing a remote workforce, training may not be top of mind.  However, your organization could still be subject to federal, state, or OSHA regulations.  You still need to ensure your team gets the required training it needs.   
   
   There are many ways to address this challenge, including conducting remote training over Zoom or a similar digital platform.  Employers who choose to do it themselves should consider sending out materials ahead of time for workers to familiarize themselves with the subject(s), then sending out handouts for easy reference after the training.  Keeping participants engaged and having group discussions can be key to ensuring that the training is more effective and impactful.   
   
   One of the easiest ways to implement remote training is to consider a digital training platform, like MP Learn.  A digital training platform will allow you to choose from hundreds of pre-recorded trainings or create your own custom training.  It will also allow you to set reminders and track your staff’s progress in completing training.   
   
   There are so many advantages to using a digital training platform that employers may find that they’d like to continue with it in the future, even post-pandemic.  It can save time and money, as it won’t require a trainer to be paid for every session and it can allow workers to access training anytime and anywhere.  A learning platform like MP Learn can also help employers ensure that training is standardized, so that every worker, regardless of when they do a training, receives the same message.  It’s also easy to refer back to courses if a worker ever needs a refresher.  

2. New Safety Training for COVID: Even though a vaccine is here, it will still take a long time for everyone to be vaccinated and for the pandemic to be more under control.  Especially if staff work onsite, employers should be training their staff in safety and hygiene protocol specifically for the pandemic.  Employees should also be trained on social distancing requirements and discouraging large gatherings, meetings, group lunches, etc.  This isn’t just about protecting employees, customers, and vendors from the virus.  It’s also about reducing legal risk for the company.  There are still no clear precedents or protections for employers when it comes to COVID.  This means employers may be at serious risk of lawsuits, complaints, and fines if their workers, clients, managers, etc. get COVID onsite.  If employers have not yet brought their staff back to work, it would be wise to begin preparations for that process by doing remote training ahead of time.  

3.  Required Trainings: As mentioned above, managers need to keep in mind that required trainings are still necessary, whether workers are remote or not.  Consider sexual harassment as an example.  In some states, like New York and California, sexual harassment training is required by law.  Employers that have gone remote should remember that workers can engage in sexual harassment– whether they are in person or not.  Remote coworkers can still sexually harass each other.  
   
   To ensure they’re in compliance, workplaces can take a few steps.  Firstly, they should check to see what trainings they are required to provide per state and federal regulations.  These could include: sexual harassment training, non-discrimination and anti-retaliation training, safety training, and trainings specific to their industry.  Businesses might also choose to provide other management trainings such as performance management, leave of absence, and compliance and ethics training.  Properly training workers and managers on some of these elective topics could help avoid complaints, lawsuits, and regulatory fines later.  Another possible step is to consider HR consulting like MP’s. An HR expert can help an organization figure out what trainings they need to be providing based on the locations of their workers, numbers of employees, and their industry.  They can also help an employer decide the best ways to deliver this training and track it in their records.