As an employer, you naturally want to make certain that new employees are onboarded as quickly and efficiently as possible. Bringing new employees onboard in an efficient manner helps your company save time, money, and hassles. Even so, the onboarding process is not always as easy as it might seem. It’s certainly not as easy as processing new hire paperwork and telling the employee where to report.

This is particularly true when it comes to the construction industry. When bringing new hires into the construction workplace, there are many areas to cover to make sure your new employees know what to expect and how to stay safe on the job.

Why Onboarding in the Construction Business Is So Important

While on-the-job safety is critical for all industries, construction takes it to an entirely new level. Construction workers must operate heavy equipment while lifting materials weighing tons. Such tasks often take place in noisy, outdoor environments. For these reasons alone, it is imperative to make onboarding in the construction industry seamless and comprehensive. New hires must understand proper operating and safety procedures not only for their own safety but also for the safety of others. Additionally, workers need to understand how to complete projects in a timely manner and with the highest quality.
Construction companies typically acknowledge that their workers are among their most valuable assets. This makes getting off to a good start with new hires crucial to a company’s bottom line. Given the effort, cost, and time associated with hiring new employees, it is always in the best interest of the business to make certain the onboarding process is as effective and efficient as possible.

Unfortunately, new hires are often thrown into new jobs and expected to begin working immediately. While some people are capable of performing adequately in this type of situation, that is certainly not the case for everyone. Furthermore, this approach could affect the length of time the employee will remain with the company. By fostering a positive onboarding experience, companies can ensure they are viewed as a desirable place to work. Over the long term, this can reduce the company’s turnover rate and reduce the cost of bringing on new employees.

Tips to Make Onboarding in the Construction Workplace Easier

For companies looking for tips for onboarding in the construction workplace made easy, it is important to understand that proper onboarding must form a foundation. As such, onboarding should include orientation to the job and your company, along with safety training.

First, the onboarding process for bringing in new hires in the construction industry should be interesting. The onboarding process does not have to be boring. Instead, it can be viewed as an opportunity to help new hires become acquainted with veteran workers while introducing them to your company culture.
It’s also important for construction companies to establish a training process that is both clear and concise. New hires must be provided with the key information they need in order to perform their job effectively. Workers who are unsure how to perform their job are not only more likely to become dissatisfied with their job but also at a higher risk for sustaining an injury.

One of the reasons that many construction companies do not feel as though they offer a comprehensive onboarding process is because they simply do not have time. That is completely understandable, given the number of other things that can consume an HR manager’s time. One way to resolve this issue is through online training.

Online training helps construction companies maintain a consistent onboarding process, ensuring that each new hire receives precisely the same information. You can be assured there are no information gaps that might lead to a new hire being unprepared or uninformed regarding critical issues. In the event that information needs to be updated, you can handle that easily, as well. There is never a concern that your training information is out of date.

Besides basic safety procedures, your construction company can also use virtual learning to teach new employees about your company culture and organizational values.

Additionally, online training can also be performed in a more time efficient manner. You no longer need to wait until someone is available to go over the information with a new hire. Instead, information can be presented at whatever time is most convenient for your company and your new worker. There is absolutely no wasted time. Whether you need to train one new hire or a group of new workers, the training will be quickly and easily available at any time.
Since online onboarding eliminates the need for an actual classroom, it also gets rid of travel-related expenses associated with bringing new hires and HR personnel to a classroom setting. In this regard, online training can help your company to save on expenses.

Online training for onboarding can also be helpful in a variety of other circumstances. For example, suppose you have an employee who appears to need a refresher course on a particular subject. With online onboarding training, that employee can quickly revisit the topic in question.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive yet effective way to bring new hires onboard with your construction company, online training is a great way to do so.

Simplify your onboarding program with Go1 today! 

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Simplifying onboarding in the construction industry

Lost time due to sickness takes a toll on not only the employee but also the business. While sickness cannot be completely avoided, every sick day that an employee takes can create havoc on a business. Unlike vacation days, which can be planned for in advance, sick days typically come completely unannounced. As a result, it can be difficult for management to plan for those days. This often results in a complete upheaval for the business, affecting management, other employees, and even customers. Clearly, it’s imperative that employers find an effective method for helping employees stay as healthy as possible.

E-learning offers a flexible and easily accessible method for educating employees on best practices for improving their health. Not only is e-learning an easily offered education tool in the workplace, but it also happens to be the preferred learning method for millennials. Considering that millennials comprise approximately one-third of today’s workforce, it certainly makes sense for employers to consider the preferences of this demographic when developing training solutions.

With e-learning, employers gain the advantage of maximum flexibility. This can be of significant importance when scheduling time for training. Since all the tools and materials for the courses are prerecorded and digital, training can be offered at any time that is most convenient for management and employees.

Lost productivity due to illness costs businesses far too much money each year. Fortunately, at least some of this is reversible. This can be easily accomplished through specific e-learning courses focusing on reducing the risk of work-related illness and improving one’s health.

Such courses can run include helping employees learn how to balance work and life, so that they are more productive without becoming overworked. For example, employees can learn how to manage their schedules to ensure they have time for working out at the gym and other physical fitness activities. Such activities are not only important for stress relief but also crucial for staying physically fit and healthy. The more physically fit employees are, the less likely they are to become ill. Furthermore, e-learning courses can be used to provide health and wellness information to employees who live in areas where health services might be limited.

Courses to Consider for Helping Employees Boost Their Health

The types of courses offered by an employer to assist employees in reducing their risk of work-related illness may vary based on industry and area. However, there are some courses that all employers should consider offering. These courses include:

This course shows employees how to achieve a balanced life while still having time for work as well as relaxation, relationships, and fun. The focus of this course is goal-centered time management. Employees will learn how to work smarter rather than harder. They also will learn effective stress management techniques, so they will be able to build resilience even while under pressure.

When it comes to keeping employees happy, healthy, and productive, psychological health is just as important as physical health. Regardless of the industry, it is vital that employees be able to deal with challenging situations effectively. This course is designed to assist employees in balancing psychological health matters successfully.

A lack of understanding regarding nutritional eating has led to a global obesity epidemic. This can have a significant effect on the workforce. To address this crisis, it’s important for employees to be educated about strategies for healthful eating. Studies have shown that the consumption of heavily processed foods has contributed to increasing rates of chronic disease. The good news is that many of these diseases are preventable. This course provides employees with both the information and the skills they need to distinguish between foods that threaten their health and foods that will optimize their health.

It’s common for employees to suffer from a variety of health issues, including aches and pains. Unfortunately, those aches and pains can affect productivity and missed work days. Acupressure has been proven to be an effective method for treating everyday issues. With this course, employees will learn how to relieve their own pain without the need for medications using traditional massage points. The course instructs learners how to locate the right massage points for headache and migraine relief, flu relief, allergy relief, anxiety relief, asthma relief, depression relief, and more.

Yoga for All: Lose Weight and Detox to Better Health

This course instructs learns how to take advantage of three authentic yoga practices to lose weight, sleep better, and detox in a safe and completely gentle manner. Through this course, employees will learn how to perform more than 100 yoga poses to increase flexibility, strengthen their core, and tone their muscles. Instruction regarding meditation is also provided, showing learners techniques for guided meditation and breathing exercises. Additionally, learners will receive information about the Saathvic diet, including information on the benefits of natural foods and how they can accelerate weight loss.

Lost work days and productivity can be among the most serious issues faced by management in the workplace. However, managers can take steps to assist employees in reducing illness while boosting their health. E-learning offers an effective method for delivering vital information to employees, allowing them to take greater control of their health and wellness.

There’s no doubt that possessing a well-trained sales staff is tremendously important in the apparel & fashion industry. After all, when a manager or store owner is not around, who do customers turn to for questions or concerns?

However, according to Sales Readiness Group, a research report by CSO Insights discovered that under 10% of sales organizations said their training program went above their expectations while only 33% felt that the program met their expectations. That means over half of companies were unsatisfied with their approach to training staff.

With this in mind, it’s important that we discuss why and how the right training can ensure the prosperity of a business.

The cost of providing poor training for sales staff

But before we delve into online training, let’s talk specifically about what can happen if you choose not to provide quality training for your sales staff.

For one, improper or lack of training of sales employees could result in loss of sales and make it difficult to achieve true customer loyalty. In fact, 71% of customers claimed that trustworthy communication is a major reason they make a purchase.

Research has shown that poor training can lead to a 20% turnover rate. It’s clear to see that employees truly do represent a company, and how trained they are is reflected in a business’s sales.

Another problem with failing to offer high-quality training is the fact that employees are more likely to forget important information with time. Not only does poor training result in faster loss of content, but failing to occasionally retrain employees can do it too. In fact, Gryphon Sales Strategy cites one survey that found that 84% of training information is lost 90 days after training.

This is where the importance of proper staff training comes in. Providing enjoyable, content-filled training for your employees can ensure your staff will pay attention and better retain the information you give them in your materials.

Employees have greater flexibility about when and where they get trained and can do so from a variety of devices

Slower learners benefit significantly from online versus in-person training as many online courses are self-paced

Online training can often be more enjoyable for staff

Implementing training online is less of a hassle for employers as already-made online training courses can be found

Training materials can be reviewed online if an employee forgets certain information

Many millennials are especially excited about online training as they thrive in versatile and innovative environments

Online training saves time and added stress on the employer’s side

Online training courses are great to reiterate sales or communication strategies or to educate staff on lengthy, more complex topics in an organized manner

If a company has out-of-state employees, they can still receive quality training without the need to travel long distances

Once employers offer online training, it makes it easier to set up future sessions as there is a reduced need for employers to be involved. With that said, an employer who utilizes online training may be more likely to offer recurring training than companies who only offer on-site training. This is a huge advantage for any organization.

Get online sales training courses from Go1

Best of all, there is no need for you to create your own training courses. Forget putting together information packets or documents, filming videos, or creating PowerPoints to train employees. You can still adequately train your sales staff without doing it all yourself.

Through Go1, training sales staff is easy with online training courses that are already made and ready to go. Go1 offers over 600 online course options that range from Retail – Managing Yourself, Personal Presentation & Hygiene, to Products and Merchandise, to Effective Communication.

You can even have immediate access to our most popular courses that go beyond sales and delve into leadership, customer service, personal development, and other types of valuable content.

Go1 courses can be either self-paced or scheduled and help educate your team members on endless topics - from compliance to hiring policy and everything in between.

There’s no doubt about it: online training is the training of the future when it comes to working with your sales staff.

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

Training sales staff is easy with online training

A serious injury or death in the workplace can affect your business significantly and alter lives forever. Along with major financial burdens, workplace injuries can pose significant demands on you and your workers. As an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure that each person you employ returns home every day in good health. Creating a healthy and safe work environment is about far more than simply establishing rules, however.

An important component of any comprehensive workplace health and safety program is providing initial as well as ongoing training. The problem that many companies encounter is that they simply do not know where to begin. Once you have answered the question of why you need worksite safety training, you must then move on to determining how you will provide effective training and which topics you should cover.

Online training is often the most effective and cost-efficient method of delivery for many businesses. Regardless of your industry, online training offers a myriad of benefits, including convenience and cost-effectiveness. There is no need to wait until a class is full to train employees. Training can take place at any time, which is a great benefit regardless of whether you need to train new hires or provide refresher training to current employees. Your business can also avoid the need to bring employees in for training, thus slashing travel costs.

The types of courses you include in your company’s worksite safety training can run the gamut, but it should include a few basics to ensure that your employees have a solid grasp of how to stay safe in the workplace.

Work Health and Safety Fundamentals is an excellent example of the type of basic course that should be offered to your employees as part of your workplace health and safety program. This course provides employees with an understanding of health and safety responsibilities in the workplace, including how to reduce the risk for some common workplace hazards.

Office Ergonomics is another course that would be highly suitable for any business, particularly those that employ workers who spend significant amounts of time at their desks. This course was developed with the goal of offering an understanding of how to set up a workspace that is safe, healthy, and productive. Workers will learn about some of the common health risks in the office environment; how to set up computer screens and chairs; how to arrange items on a desk; and how to manage issues resulting from temperature, lighting, and noise. Additionally, the course offers suggestions on how to structure work tasks and breaks to reduce the risk of illness and injury.

Slips and Trips Hazard Guide is a course intended to provide workers with an understanding of the controls that should be used to reduce the risk of slips and trips in the workplace. The course offers information about how to identify slips and trips, including how workers could be exposed to slips and trips in the workplace.

Electrical Risks Hazard Guide is a course that has been designed to provide employees with an understanding of the controls necessary to reduce electrical risks in the workplace. The course provides information about electrical risks, the ways that employees could be exposed to those risks, and the controls needed to reduce the risks.

Manual Handling Hazard Guide is a course targeting any worker who may need to manually handle materials in the workplace. The goal of this course is to provide information about what manual handling is, hazardous activities related to manual handling, and the controls that should be put in place to reduce the risks associated with manual handling.

Education and training are critical tools for keeping workers informed about workplace hazards as well as controls that can be used to boost safety and productivity. With the proper workplace safety and hazard control education program in place, employees will have the knowledge and skills necessary to perform their jobs safely and without putting others at risk. Employees will also gain the information needed to properly identify, report, and control workplace hazards.

All employees should receive a minimum of workplace hazard training; however, additional training might be necessary for some employees based on their role. For this reason, it is important to evaluate your company’s workplace safety and health program on a regular basis to ensure it remains up to date and in compliance.

It should be kept in mind that a formal classroom setting is not always necessary to provide effective education and training. Online training is a convenient way to ensure your employees have a solid understanding of potential workplace hazards and appropriate controls, thus promoting safe work practices.

If you are still considering why you need worksite safety training, remember that all it takes is a single incident at your place of business to create devastating effects on your company as well as everyone whom you employ. One accident in the workplace can be costly to your company while creating a cascading effect that can affect your business for many years to come. It is far better to establish a comprehensive worksite safety training program now and ensure that all of your employees understand how to work safely rather than wait until a tragedy occurs. This type of program will more than pay for the nominal investment by mitigating the possible risks that you might otherwise incur.

Why you need worksite safety training

Bringing a new manager on board can be an exciting experience, but it can also create a tremendous amount of change. To ensure that the experience is positive and effective, it’s critical to develop an onboarding process that reduces the new hire’s learning curve while keeping employees engaged. Unfortunately, most companies tend to spend the majority of their efforts on onboarding new employees and little time on onboarding new managers.

In most cases, this lack of focus on the onboarding experience for managers is due to the belief that anyone who is qualified for a management position already has enough knowledge to be successful in that position. This is not always the case, however. It’s quite a leap to assume that a new manager is fully capable of hitting the ground running. Regardless of how qualified a new manager might be, it’s still important to provide proper onboarding to ensure success.

Leaders provide a critical role in any company, regardless of the industry. Not only does the manager set the tone for the remainder of the organization, but he or she is also responsible for guiding company culture. Whenever someone new joins a company in a leadership position, they have the opportunity to impact that organization with new opinions and ideas. Such a new leader can also be at a disadvantage due to a lack of institutional knowledge and context.

Proper onboarding for managers is crucial for a variety of reasons. For instance, onboarding can play a critical role in retaining talent within the company. When current employees clash with a new manager, there is an increased chance that some of them will decide to leave the organization. Ultimately, this can impact the company’s bottom line, as the cost of replacing current employees can be a costly endeavour.

The first two weeks after a new manager is brought on board can be quite overwhelming, regardless of how experienced or prepared he or she is. Following those two weeks, it’s important to make certain that education plays a central role in the onboarding process. This includes education not just about the services and/or products marketed by the company but also that pertains specifically to management.

Unfortunately, most organizations can find it difficult to find time to fit in training for new managers. This can quickly lead to a gap of information. As time passes, it can become even more difficult to fit in time to ensure managers receive the training they need to perform their jobs at optimum efficiency. Online learning provides a flexible and easy method for scheduling training to meet the needs of new managers.

Below is a list of online training courses specifically designed for new managers. With these courses, managers are able to receive the critical learning they need in a format that fits their limited time schedule. There is no need to remove managers from day-to-day operations.

This course was developed with the goal of providing supervisors and managers with an understanding of how to manage risk in the workplace. Managers will also be introduced to the concept of how they can play a role in the reduction of risk, including identifying hazards, assessing risk, how risk controls should be applied, the importance of consulting with workers, and when a risk management approach is appropriate.

This course was developed to assist managers in learning how to manage the discipline process with procedural fairness. Managers will learn how to manage the discipline process correctly through the use of legal and ethical guidelines. Additionally, managers will learn how to conduct a formal investigation, conduct an employee interview, avoid common mistakes, and make a formal decision.

Managers and supervisors require the support of every team member to be effective leaders and accomplish their objectives. This course helps learners understand the best way to investigate the personal qualities necessary to be effective leaders by motivating and influencing a diverse workforce. Once a manager understands the proper techniques for tapping into the talent of the existing workforce, they will be better prepared to lead their team to greater objectives.

Regardless of the industry, it’s important that a manager has a solid understanding of financial literacy. This course helps managers investigate the topic of financial literacy, including how to correctly record income and expenditures, reporting requirements for taxes, the range of taxes that is applicable to various organizations, and how to understand the topic of cash flow. This course will ensure that managers have a solid handle on the best way to effectively manage the organization’s finances.

How to Conduct Effective Business Meetings

Meetings are frequently an important part of managing an organization or division. When handled properly, meetings can also help boost productivity while giving teams the opportunity to produce new ideas and accomplish objectives. With that said, when meetings are not handled properly, employees can quickly become frustrated and feel that meetings waste their time. This course was designed to assist managers in learning how to conduct effective meetings while accomplishing necessary goals and without wasting valuable time.

Bringing a new manager on board can be an exciting experience, but it can also create a tremendous amount of change. Here's how to set up a first-time manager for success.

Hiring a new manager? Set up a first-time manager for success with online courses

As lucrative as the hospitality industry can be, managers frequently face a number of challenges in terms of retaining employees while remaining in compliance with health and safety standards. The challenges faced by hospitality industry management include:

Maintaining a reputation for high-quality service

Encompassing not just hotel and food service businesses, the term hospitality industry also includes transportation, tourist attractions, and amusement parks. Around the world, the hotel and restaurant business alone is a nearly $3 trillion industry. It is estimated that tens of millions of people are employed in the hospitality industry. As such, there is naturally a lot on the line when it comes to retaining employees while adhering to compliance standards.

Management must ensure that employees are properly prepared for practically any scenario. At the same time, it’s vital for hospitality industry management to be assured their employees are satisfied in an effort to keep their turnover rate low. The best way to accomplish all these goals is with an effective yet convenient training delivery method. Online training can accomplish all of these goals.

The hospitality industry is dependent on delivering high customer service. Along with this territory come insurance and regulation concerns. Having a permit taken away or a lawsuit brought against a business can quickly spell disaster. Therefore, it’s necessary for managers to ensure employees are properly trained on health and safety issues. Online training, such as Work Health and Safety Standards, makes it easy for hospitality businesses to ensure their employees can avoid potentially detrimental incidences.

The consequences of a fire can be devastating in any industry, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage while putting lives at risk. In the hospitality industry, the consequences of a fire can be more serious. With the assistance of an online fire safety awareness course, managers can ensure their employees and guests stay safe. This course helps employees learn about fire prevention, minimizing fire hazards, and how to detect fires.

Businesses in the hospitality industry are often prime targets for terror organizations. Online training courses, such as a bioterrorism awareness course, can provide employees in the hospitality industry with the information necessary to recognize the elements of a terrorist attack, prepare for an attack, and understand the proper actions to take in the event of an attack.

Compared to other industries, the hospitality industry tends to have a higher turnover rate. A number of factors contribute to this higher turnover rate, including the fact that hospitality jobs tend to be part time and seasonal in nature. An effort among employees to upgrade their positions combined with lower-than-average wages contribute to higher turnover rates. As a result, the hospitality industry has to deal with near-constant onboarding of new employees. This can create numerous training challenges. Yet, managers must rise to the challenge and ensure that new employees have necessary training as quickly as possible. Online training makes it possible for managers to meet their objectives quickly and easily. When employees feel as though employers take a genuine interest in their well-being, they are much more likely to stay rather than searching for new employment.

Developing a reputation for quality customer service

Any business in the hospitality industry is dependent on maintaining a reputation for quality customer service. This is necessary for not only attracting new customers but also retaining current customers. Even a single incident, such as food poisoning, can cause a business’s reputation to suffer. Conversely, when a business is well known for safe practices and cleanliness, customers will naturally increase. A food safety and sanitation course can help make sure an unfortunate incident does not destroy a business’s reputation. The best way to ensure a solid reputation for customer service is to make certain employees are trained to meet high safety and health service standards.

Although these factors demonstrate the challenges associated with health and safety training for hospitality industry employees, it is now easier than ever to meet those standards with online training. Managers can streamline training while taking advantage of an easy-to-use delivery system. As a result, training becomes more effective and flexible. Online training is also easily scalable to meet the changing needs of a business’s workforce.

The reality is that accidents can happen at any time in any industry. In the hospitality industry, managers are responsible for the health and safety of not only their employees but also every guest that enters their establishment. Employees must understand how to protect themselves, co-workers, and customers. Effective training ensures no one gets hurt and your business is not penalized for failure to adhere to regulations. Online health and safety training is the ideal tool to teach employees how they can make the best decisions for their safety, for the safety of their customers, and to avoid potential hazards and risks.

Safety and security are among the most important issues within the hospitality industry. From ensuring that guests have an exceptional experience to protecting everyone who walks in the door, managers have a tremendous responsibility. As challenging as that responsibility may be, it does not have to be difficult. Online training can provide the tools hospitality managers need to keep their establishments safe, reduce employee turnover, and provide guests with a superior experience.

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

A good way to ensure that your employees are safe is by providing proper training. Learn more about why safety training is so important in the hospitality industry.

Why is safety training important in the hospitality industry

Throughout May the Go1 Team have been working on a range of new features and improvements that will help to improve the learning experience of all of our customers and their learners.

We understand that not everyone is always able to make it to our webinars, so we have recording available below so that you can catchup on all of the details, and share with your team.

In our May update, we walk you through all of the updates below: 

Our exciting integration with Zapier, which you can access through your Go1 portal. You will be able to see just how easy it is to set up your Zaps!

The improvements to Course Due Dates, designed to give learners greater clarity on their upcoming and overdue dates.

Updates to the Content Provider Dashboard and a demonstration on how to use the additional filter on the Payments Tab will be included.

There is also be more information on additional minor improvements, including the ability to upload video responses to assessments.

Our Go1 Update webinars take place every month and covers everything you need to know about the latest updates to our platform, including a Q&A session where you can ask any questions you might have around anything to do with Go1.

Want to be involved in our Early Access Program? Contact us today!

Webinar catchup: Go1 Platform end of May updates

This week, Go1 hosted the first WomenHack event in Brisbane and we had an unforgettable and fun night!

The exclusive WomenHack event focuses on connecting talented female software engineers, UI/UX designers, and product managers with opportunities at tech companies around the world. At Go1, we believe it is important to empower women working in traditionally male-dominated industries, such as the tech and startup industries and we are always keen to talk to them about our opportunities at Go1.

Around 50 talented women joined Go1 and other attending companies to get to know each other better over wine and canapes. The atmosphere was relaxed and very inspiring as a diverse group of women exchanged experiences, interests and their diverse reasons for attending the event.

View all of the photos from WomenHack Brisbane here

The event itself was opened with a keynote speech by Go1’s Head of Product Liz Hardie. Liz has held a number of senior roles in the Product world and has been a role model to many aspiring and successful women in Brisbane. 

Here at Go1, we have been working proactively on initiatives to increase our number of female employees and we are very proud to have managed to increase the total number of female employees by 11% within the last 5 months. At present, 30% of our total workforce is made up of women and we will continue to increase the number to be part of female success stories. The Go1 Product team is a pioneer in this regard with 62% of the team made up of women and 33% from a non-English speaking background.

After the opening keynotes, it was time for the ‘speed dating’ part of the night - every employer and female attendee had five minutes for a meaningful conversation.  

It was absolutely fascinating to learn more about everyone’s background and interesting experiences to date. Sometimes we got caught up talking about our passions outside work or what we are looking for in an employer. The five minutes were up far too quickly but hopefully, this was only the first chat of many to come!

Behind every great system is an organised team. This is especially true in the healthcare industry, where a dedicated human resources team can help effectively recruit employees, train staff, and implement safety measures in the workplace. As such, the importance of human resources in the healthcare industry cannot be overstated, with benefits ranging from providing an orderly, effective facility to giving staff the most accurate and up-to-date training.

When equipped with a high-quality HR management program, hospital staff are more satisfied in their roles while also providing outstanding service to their patients.

Here’s the thing: staff training is one of the most crucial tasks a human resources team can provide for a healthcare facility. Yet, according to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, staff shortages are surging in hospitals as millennials are leaving this sector — primarily due to poor job satisfaction linked to, you guessed it, a lack of training. Not only that, but the World Health Organisation found that 15 million more health workers will be needed by 2030, primarily in lower and middle-income areas. 

According to one report, only 27% of respondents say their organisation is prepared for a nursing shortage to a high or very high extent, while nearly 10% of respondents say their organisation is not at all prepared for a nursing shortage. 

So, what can teams do to overcome these challenges and provide better training for healthcare staff? We’ll take you step-by-step through the importance of training in the healthcare sector, offering concrete ideas to implement better, more effective training. We'll start by emphasising the importance of training in the healthcare sector, before analysing the benefits of training healthcare teams online and the benefits of managing training online.  

Importance of training in the healthcare sector

Imagine starting a new job without knowing the specifics of  exactly what your position entails. You’re left in the dark, grasping at straws to figure out what to do next. In most new jobs, this would be challenging. In a hospital, it would be a nightmare. Where do you even start? Unfortunately, this scenario occurs all too frequently, and it’s incredibly frustrating for employees.

While this would be concerning in most industries, in the healthcare industry, it can quite literally be the difference between life and death. Having accurate, up-to-date knowledge is vital for healthcare workers, as they often work in a faster-paced environment. If staff can’t keep up with the workflow, the facility can’t provide the most effective treatment, thereby putting patients in danger. Plus, the knowledge and experience staff gain in their position can help prepare them for higher-level positions in the future.

As Health Management explains, “because the healthcare industry is continuously evolving, technologies considered best practice today can change drastically in just the span of a decade. That’s why care providers have to regularly keep up with new techniques and technologies and expand their knowledge and skills – which means continuous education is not a nice-to-have but an absolute necessity for any healthcare professional who wants to provide high-quality patient care.” 

According to industry experts, millennials, more than any other age group (40% versus 20% of baby boomers), are less satisfied at their job unless they receive the proper training, feedback, and fulfilment from their work.

Despite this, ATD’s 2019 State of Healthcare Training Report found that, on average, healthcare organisations only spend $602 per employee per year on training. By comparison, Statista finds that the average L&D team spends $1,308 per employee per year for all organisations. To put it another way, healthcare organisations only spend 46% of the global average on employee training, which doesn't make for pretty reading. 

Further, ATD’s report found that healthcare employees use an average of 25.5 learning hours per year. Again, this does not compare favourably with the overall average of 34.1 learning hours per year for all industries. 

Worryingly, this lack of training is leading to significant worker shortages. As of 2017, 90% of hospital leaders were worried about finding clinical staff such as physicians, nurses, and specialists in the next 10 years. Moreover, nearly 20% already faced shortages of nurses, according to a survey by Prudential.

With this in mind, PWC's 2020 Top Health Industry Issues Report found that 45% of healthcare providers said 'having the right talent' was a barrier to their organisation's digital strategies. On the other hand, 26% said that digitally upskilling their existing workforce was a key priority, while 27% said hiring employees with skills to support new capabilities, products, or services was their top priority. 

Finally, a survey of more than 5,000 healthcare professionals by Relias found that 60% of healthcare organisations don't have well-developed methods to evaluate whether training is being put into practice on the job. While this is concerning, it is an improvement from 74% of organisations in 2017. 

Relias' survey also found that only 33% of organisations said all staff receive regular training and education. As a result, 47% said their organisation needed to align all healthcare professionals.

HR teams, healthcare employees, and management must work together to reverse these concerning trends and recognise the importance of ongoing training in the healthcare industry. 

One way to deliver effective training is to train your healthcare team online. Numerous online courses are available to train new and established staff on everything from general workplace subjects to more specific health and medicine topics.

If you need some support training your healthcare team online, Go1 can help. Go1 offers many healthcare-related courses from world-class partners, ranging from our Healthcare Compliance Bundle to Hazard Communication for Healthcare and even Hand and Wrist Anatomy for Healthcare Professionals. And these are only the tip of the iceberg. To access these courses and more, start your free trial today.

Some HR staff may be sceptical when it comes to managing online training for healthcare workers. This initial hesitation is completely understandable. However, we know how busy healthcare staff are and how difficult it can be to organise traditional training sessions. With so many competing priorities, it’s easy to see why many healthcare workers struggle to find free time for training. After all, if you’re faced with a decision between urgent patient care and optional training, it’s obvious which task should take precedence.

Again, to re-emphasise, healthcare employees use an average of 25.5 learning hours per year compared to the overall average of 34.1 learning hours per year for all industries. That works out to be just over 4 minutes per day, and that's including weekends! Offering online training for healthcare staff can ease many of these blockers and frustrations by allowing healthcare workers to access training when, where, and how it suits them. 

The good news is that online training in the healthcare sector is slowly trending in the right direction. According to Relias, 47% of healthcare organisations now use an LMS, up from 39% in 2017. Better yet, 76% of healthcare workers experienced either major or moderate shifts toward online training, while the majority of organisations increased (33%) or maintained (54%) their training spending. Likewise, a study by Panopto found that 2 in 3 physicians use online video training to stay abreast of the latest clinical information. 

Thus, online training has numerous benefits, including:

In an industry where patients’ health and lives are on the line, hospitals can’t physically or ethically afford to hire staff without the necessary skills to perform a number of jobs. 

Deloitte estimates that global skills gaps will leave 2.4 million positions unfilled between 2018 and 2028, causing an economic impact of $2.4 trillion. Similarly, a recent survey by McKinsey found that nine in ten executives say their organisations either face  skill gaps already or expect gaps to develop in the next five years. 

Additionally, 1 in 5 workers admit their professional skills are not up to date, with a further 85% of employees saying they wish their company had offered more new skills  training last year. 

When you walk into a hospital or health care facility, you don't want to take the risk that 1 in every 5 employees has out-of-date skills. As such, closing the skills gap in the healthcare sector is vital. 

The convenient thing about online training is that there are endless options for the skills and information you can present to employees. Once the hospital and human resources staff have sourced the most suitable online training courses, the HR team can focus on other important tasks, such as hiring new staff, providing new employee orientations, or handling claims.

For further insights on how to start closing your skill gaps, see our blogs on identifying your skill gaps and closing the L&D skills gap. 

An excellent form of continuing education

Online training is a fantastic way to ensure staff are up-to-date with the latest hospital safety and healthcare-related rules and regulations. In such a fast-moving industry, this is essential. A crucial component of any individual’s career is continuously upskilling and seeking new knowledge, skills, and perspectives. Online learning can facilitate this.

Effectively managing online training for hospital staff also results in a more effective flow of communication. Now, with a single click, you can send all the necessary training materials to your employees. For instance, our courses on People and Communication Skills and Advanced Communication Skills. 

Additionally, because you can find online healthcare courses created by world-class providers, you can be sure they contain professional, accurate, and easy-to-understand content for the employees you wish to train. All the information is already there, so all that’s left is for each staff member to complete the course.

Better versatility for both HR and hospital staff

With online training, HR and hospital staff can take their learning materials anywhere. Also, since so many self-paced courses are now available, there’s greater flexibility and options to ensure healthcare employees succeed with the courses they take. This point is crucial, as not everyone learns or absorbs information at the same pace. Some people need more time, while others require much less. Everyone has a custom solution that will meet their learning needs.

Online training can also assist employees with:

Overall, there are many benefits to providing quality, versatile online training for your hospital staff. When staff have their personal needs met, they are more likely to excel in their career and provide high-quality care to patients. By equipping staff with flexible online training options, they can continually upskill, stay up-to-date with the latest trends, and, most importantly, provide a higher standard of care. Moreover, you will be better equipped to close impending skills gaps and stave off any looming worker shortages. It's a win-win!

Human Resources are an important component of healthcare organizations. Learn what they do and how they fit into the healthcare industry.

The importance of human resources in the healthcare sector

We’ll take you step-by-step through the importance of training in the healthcare sector, offering concrete ideas to implement better, more effective training. 

Did you know that there are 76 million cases of foodborne illness every year in the US?

If you own a restaurant or café, you take pride in your work and serving delicious food to your customers. So why wouldn’t you want to make sure this is exactly what happens in your establishment?

The last thing you want to do is make your customers sick with food poisoning. But, unfortunately, this is what happens when your staff don’t follow the food safety procedures that should be in place.

Unhealthy bacteria like E. coli and salmonella can easily spread on countertops if they aren’t properly cleaned -  you’d be surprised at how many dangers lurk in your restaurant or café that you don’t know about.

The best way to make sure that your business isn’t affected by any avoidable outbreaks is through online food safety training. This can benefit all your employees to make sure that there’s no dangerous bacteria or germs contaminating customer meals.

So what are some of the benefits of training your employees in food safety and hygiene? Well, for one, when you’re able to prevent food poisoning, you make sure that you build a positive reputation and not a bad one.

The last thing you want is customers to get sick and for news to spread that your establishment is to blame. This sort of bad news can bring disaster to a business. But when your employees know about proper food safety, you can build a positive reputation and concentrate on what you do best.

In addition, when employees know exactly how to work hygienically, this will make your workflow, in general, more efficient and allow meals to come out of the kitchen faster. There will be fewer errors and - most importantly – fewer threats to the health of your customers.

You’ll notice that your food waste is also reduced and this will no longer cut into your profits. After all, who wants to see their business profits plummet due to inefficient working and bad hygiene when it could be prevented?

Of course, as the owner of a food establishment, it’s your responsibility and duty to ensure that there’s a clean and safe environment for preparing and serving food to your customers.

This means that good training can prevent your establishment from being fined and having to pay thousands of dollars in penalties and in lawsuits. So, let’s find out more about this food safety training that we’re talking about.

Everybody should know the basics about food safety, from chefs to front of house. Online learning is a fantastic way to make sure that the right materials are accessible to the right people.

A food safety e-learning course will educate your team on why hygiene, preparation and storage are important not only for your business but for the safety of customers too.

Plus, it will teach them about good hygiene practices to use when they’re at work and even what they can practice at home. It can be simple things such as how to wash your hands properly and the importance of hair restraints and food storage.

When you provide your employees with online food safety training, you can make sure that your business is efficient, productive and successful all at the same time.

An easy and effective way to train your employees in food safety is through online e-learning courses. This is becoming the best way to provide education to your team since it’s a convenient and fun way to learn everything there is to know about food safety.

E-learning courses are fantastic because they can be accessed at any time and from anywhere. All your employees need is their own tablet and they’re all ready to go.

They’ll be able to access all the learning materials from home, as well as on the go. It’s up to them where they’ll learn best and feel like they are retaining the information better.

A lot of people learn more effectively with visual aids and this is the great thing about food safety e-learning courses. They use a variety of media to teach your team, such as animated videos, presentations and even games. Who knew learning could be so much fun, right?

In addition, online food safety training is cost-effective for your business. You won’t have to fork out for expensive conferences or to bring in a professional for teaching – you can invest in an online course instead!

They’re still designed by professionals in the industry, as well as kept up-to-date with the latest laws and regulations for your business. So, it’s always going to be the best option for all your employees to access.

What’s more, online learning gives you the ability to track your employee’s progress. You’ll be able to see who has completed their training at the touch of a button, as well as check up on their scores on quizzes and tests.

This allows you to provide more support to employees that require a little bit more help with online food safety training.

So, what are you waiting for? It’s never too late to start introducing online food safety training to your team. In fact, the sooner the better! All you’ve got to do is choose the courses that you want for training and it will be all ready to start.

Online food safety training: improving workplace efficiency and productivity

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