Are you an HR rep or manager? Do you feel like your team could use a morale boost but don’t know how to provide it? A recent study found that there is a high degree of correlation between job satisfaction and on-the -job training:

A convenience sample of 552 customer and technical service employees in nine major organizations in the United States and Canada were given the Job Training and Job Satisfaction Survey. A major research finding in this study was the high degree of relationship between job training satisfaction and overall job satisfaction among employees. This means that training received is related to a significant portion of the satisfaction experienced on the job .

But what kind of training is best? And how should it be tailored? According to the study, there are a few things that need to be considered. To start, instructor led training is key:

It was found that the methodologies involving an instructor or coach were preferred significantly more than the more solitary type methodologies (computer-based training, or self study including video-based training).

Ok, good to know. But should your employee’s receive the same training? Length of employment matters:

Employees in their first year of employment were significantly more satisfied with the training they received than employees with job tenure of more than one year (regardless of the amount of tenure beyond one year). New employees (those within their first years on the job) also received significantly more training than employees with job tenure of more than one year.

It’s important to distinguish between training newer employees and experienced employees as they are going to have different needs. Most training tends to favor temporary/contract employees who are younger. There is a need for training opportunities for experienced employees .

Does presentation skills training work well for experienced employees ? I would argue “yes” for two reasons. First, unlike technical training, speech training is not finite. There is always something more to learn! Even your most experienced employee may still have trouble with pacing, “um’s” and “ahh’s” and organizing material. Second, presentation skills workshops tend to be highly collaborative , and benefit from the experience of legacy employees . This collaborative environment helps bond younger and more experienced employees .