5 Strategies for Employee Training in Small Businesses

The market for small businesses is booming and so is the demand for an LMS for small businesses. From eCommerce stores to brick-and-mortar boutiques, financial consulting firms, art galleries, and craft breweries, Small businesses show a myriad of variations. In fact, entrepreneurs launch around 534,000 new businesses every month! So you can realize how saturated and competitive the market is! Now, how do you ensure that you navigate the tumultuous waters of the small business market and stay at the top of your game?

Therefore, first things first. Let’s kick off by looking at the important stats related to small business owners:

1. Small businesses employ 59 million people in the U.S.A.
2. 50% of all small businesses are operated from home.
3. 64% of small business owners begin with only $10,000 of capital.
4. Approximately a quarter of small businesses begin with no financing whatsoever.

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As you can see, start-ups are the source of livelihood for a major chunk of the populace.

However, one of the major issues they face is from the financial front. Now, for your business to flourish and make an impact, your first focal point should be your workforce. Hence, you must equip them with the necessary know-how of your offered products, services, and end goals. But your next question might be — how to invest in full-fledged employee training in small businesses within such a tight budget?

Well, if you again look at the above stats — almost half of the small businesses operate from home. Additionally, with so many workplaces recently embracing a remote model, adopting virtual training platforms not only ensure you take advantage of this trend but also ascertains that you stay within your budget.

Now, let’s dive into the details a little more. Keeping the small business structure as our focus, let’s try to jot down the best strategies for employee training in small businesses. The metrics we have used to pen this blog are specific to Small businesses — small workforce, minimal budget, and limited office spaces.

Best Strategies to Deploy LMS for Small Businesses to Train Employees

When you launch your start-up, you might, for once, be tempted to put a hold on your employee training in small business activities. After all, it’s a common belief that learning comes with massive expenses. However, the short-term savings due to a paused learning curve can result in long-term losses — a result of decreased employee productivity. And this can be detrimental to the growth and success of your business.

Demotivated and undervalued employees also cause a high turnover rate. If your workforce feels that you are not making any effort to further their career path, they will choose to drop out. And as you already know, retaining an employee is better than spending dollars on recruiting and replacing an employee. To put an end to these problems, you should devise efficient ways to train your employees by deploying an LMS for small businesses — within a set budget. Here is a list of the best strategies for employee training in small businesses that can be adopted by MSMEs without breaking the bank.

Embrace an Online Model

Recent statistics report that “27% of small companies utilize blended learning methods and virtual classrooms.” And this percentage is only predicted to increase in the coming years. Companies quickly understand the benefits and flexibility offered by virtual training sessions via an LMS for small businesses. Online training resources for employee training in small businesses are reasonably priced and are available in different formats.

Mobile-friendly learning platforms in the BYOD workplace model enable trainees to access knowledge whenever they want, wherever they want. Micro-learning modules help learners to absorb information in chunks — which translates to faster retention rates. Employees can also choose their own subjects and schedules when they attend remote webinars, live classes, and online courses in employee training in small businesses.

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With the help of an LMS for small businesses, you cut down expenses related to offsite classes, instructor fees, and employee hours. Therefore, it is one of the best approaches to induce a culture of learning in a small enterprise with limited budgets.

Opt for Memberships with Trade Groups and Associations

When you hold a membership with trade groups and associations, you have the option to stay continually updated with the latest trends in the market. Check your membership plan to understand if it offers training opportunities as well. These organizations usually offer to learn via seminars, online courses, and industry certification courses, among others.

Scour for Existing Resources

LMS for small businesses does not always involve recruiting an external facilitator. Pick employees from your own organization who knows your business, possess good orator skills, and can communicate well. If you follow a blended training model, designate him/her as your primary training professional. S/he can hold the sessions for you, after being equipped with the appropriate training materials.

This strategy offers a two-way benefit. You can save on the additional expenses that would otherwise have been a result of hiring an outsider and holding a session off-premises. Meanwhile, your employee will also be enriched with presentation and vocational skills.

Or, if you opt for LMS for small businesses, search for existing materials — scattered in the form of old PPTs, Word files, manuals, or leaflets. Do not allow these vital resources to go unused. Platforms like PlayAblo have a seamless process to convert your current legacy materials into virtual, mobile-optimized, micro chunks!

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Incorporate Cross-Training

Cross-training is an effective method to build an agile workplace for employee training via an LMS for small businesses. Cross-training is defined as the process of equipping the workforce with knowledge for other roles within the company. This is an extremely beneficial strategy since it leads to an easy shift from one department to the other — as and when necessary.

You can induce hands-on learning by encouraging employees to replicate another in a different role. On-job rotations allow employees to take on new responsibilities and help them to enhance their knowledge base with new skills and responsibilities.

Create a Network of Mentors

Learning often grows with experience. A mentor network enables experienced and senior professionals to guide new recruits in understanding the business. The fresh joiners can learn on the spot — from meetings, conferences, client discussions, and practical scenarios after implementing an LMS for small businesses.

Bottom Line

You can kick off your business-specific LMS for small businesses by embracing any of the above tips. However, before that, make sure that you have a plan in place, complete with set goals and expectations. Please determine what you want employees to learn and then structure the course — so that it starts with the simplest, most basic information. You can then up the levels with more advanced subjects. Identify training gaps as well and address them in your plan.

Once you have the plan and structure ready, ensure that you regularly hold training sessions for your employees. Finally, conduct frequent performance reviews, which can help you in tracking your goals and achievements. Also, have a feedback system in place to know about employee views on the curriculum. If required, be flexible enough to adjust and tweak the course as and when necessary.