Future of work series: How to meet the training needs of a disparate workforce

Posted 4 years ago

Still using a training matrix? It’s time to move on...

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 the traditional 9-5 office could be a thing of the past for many organisations. With so many concerns surrounding social distancing and the immense challenges employers face to keep their workforce safe; a full, open plan office just doesn’t seem viable. In reality it is hard to ever imagine a complete return to normal at the moment, with the Coronavirus having a profound effect on the working environment as we know it.

What has become apparent, is the differing views from employees about homeworking. Whilst it isn’t for everyone, many admit to enjoying the positives remote working can bring, such as an improved work-life balance and greater flexibility. However, in iHasco’s COVID-19 survey in conjunction with Health & Safety Matters, 45% of respondents say they would choose to not work from home permanently.

It seems that the future of the office lies with a mix of staff working from home or in the office and increased flexi-time arrangements to spread the workforce out to keep them safe. This has huge implications for how choice and flexibility could shape the future of the office and lead to a happier and healthier workforce, providing HR and Health & Safety Managers stay on top of the training and management needs of all its employees.

Maintaining the health & safety of employees

Businesses will recognise that they are legally obliged to protect the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees, so far as reasonably practicable, under The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA). This is applicable to all employees, wherever they are working from, and it not only includes the more obvious areas such as manual handling, fire awareness and DSE but also mental health awareness and health & safety for homeworkers.

Health & Safety and compliance training doesn’t need to be difficult to implement. Online training can help you ensure staff receive the necessary training they require with ease. eLearning can deliver a consistent training programme to all of your employees, wherever they are located and at their convenience. Training bundles can provide organisations with the key areas for their requirements and help them keep on top of their health and safety obligations. If you are looking for an online training solution, why not check out user reviews and sign up for a free trial, which will help you see why so many trust iHasco with their workplace training.

Use a LMS to help keep track of training

Supporting your workforce, whether they are working from home or planning a return to the office is so important. Investing in a Learning Management System (LMS) will allow you to manage and implement training with ease. A LMS may come with any online courses you purchase. Reporting functions are useful to keep track of completed and outstanding training. Plus many systems allow you to store policies and procedures to share with employees and allow them to be marked as read, if required. This provides a very easy way to distribute these essential documents.

iHasco’s LMS is simple to use, but effective. We provide free access to our LMS as part of our offering but if you already have your own LMS, then you can opt to use our SCORM packages at no additional cost. It provides all the smart features you need without the unnecessary baggage or administrative costs of a complex enterprise LMS to help you keep on top of employee training. With so many areas for HR Managers to juggle, an LMS is another essential system to provide support to the HR function, which has been dramatically evolving since the Coronavirus outbreak. The role of HR has become crucial to support employees throughout lockdown, remote working and returning to the office – to guide employees through this challenging time.

Use technology to enhance delivery of training and communication

The past few months have proved to many of us that a range of tasks can be completed successfully with the help of technology. One to one catch-ups and group discussions via video conferencing platforms, company updates via a video message, as well as online training to support employees. If we can take what we have learnt, we can create solid policies and procedures for a workforce that doesn’t exist in one central place. Communication and training are key areas for an HR Manager and if you can get these right you will create a productive workforce, as well as attract and retain talented employees to take your business forward.

The success of employing a dispersed workforce lies in a company’s ability to embrace flexible working arrangements, improve employee communication, form solid policies & procedures and develop effective health & safety and compliance training. If these key areas can be addressed a company will have a robust formula for becoming even stronger. Despite the challenges brought by the Coronavirus pandemic, HR Managers should instead use the situation as an opportunity to overhaul their thinking in areas of managing and training people. Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Start a free trial with iHasco today. You’ll get access to our full course library and our friendly team will also be available to answer any questions you may have.

You can also download the 12-page Future of Work report published by Raconteur in The Times, featuring iHasco. It covers some of the key issues impacting organisations as a result of these unprecedented times, and shows how eLearning is shaping the future of employee training.