As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect. It is especially true when it comes to training. With experience and a little bit of luck, even the most inept of business owners can learn to run their business in ways that result in more profitable outcomes. However, as any business owner knows, there are times when properly implementing training programs is much more challenging than others.
For example, if you have a team of under-funded virtual assistants who struggle to stay on task even when given the latest software updates for their computers and smartphones…then you’ve probably experienced contextual training. Fortunately for you, this article is written with you in mind.
What is Contextual Training?
Contextual training is training that is specific to the job requirements of an employee, and only that employee. If you have a team of Dynamics 365 Users who struggle to stay on task even when given the latest software updates for their computers and smartphones then you need to provide them contextual training. This Dynamics 365 Contextual help can provide the users with on demand help for the software.
How Does it Work?
Contextual training works by having the employee complete a task using the tools provided to them. Then, the training uses natural language processing to analyze that task and provide feedback on the employee’s performance. This feedback can be used to help the employee improve their performance on future tasks.
For example, let’s say an administrative assistant is given the task of creating a new marketing campaign. Using the tools provided to her, she is able to create a great campaign and track her progress on various tasks throughout the process.
Great Places to Find Trainable Employees
There are certainly a number of ways to find trainable employees. The best way is probably through a headhunter. Suppose you have a lot of paperwork to do and you need an assistant who can help you with that. If you are looking for candidates who are interested in working for a large corporate entity, you might consider the largest city in your state.
A headhunter can find employees who are open to working for smaller companies. They can also find employees who are interested in working for start-ups. On the other end of the spectrum, there are employees who would prefer to work for a smaller company that offers a more personalized experience. This is usually the case when the employee is interested in a specific field of expertise (for example, a product manager who wants to work in marketing).
Benefits of Contextual Training
There are many benefits to contextual training. One of the most notable is that it makes employees’ jobs feel more meaningful. They are able to provide real-world results—and not just technical ones. This is because the training helps employees recognize their strengths and encourages them to be more productive.
Another benefit is that contextual training can be used as a way to gauge an employee’s level of proficiency. If you notice an employee is having difficulty performing certain tasks, you can test them out of curiosity’s sake and see if they can do the job. But once you’ve determined whether or not the task is actually capable of being completed, you can move forward with more measured and targeted training.
Conclusion
Real-world experiences are often more useful for training new employees than a standard on-the-job training program. You may not be able to give an employee a training program that they can use on their way to work or while they are on vacation. However, you can provide them with the opportunity to practice what they learned while working for you.
Provide independent or group training scenarios to acclimate employees to various work situations. Varied work experience will better equip employees to make an impact in new companies.
