What is content development in training?

Beyond simply teaching an employee how to do their jobs, corporate training and development can help team members acquire essential skills, knowledge, and capabilities that empower them to reach their highest potential.

Creating training content for teams isn’t a simple process, but when done correctly, it can help organizations:

1. Increase profit margins
2. Close skill gaps
3. Improve performance
4. Increase productivity
5. Prepare employees for promotion
6. Boost job satisfaction
7. Attract top talent
8. Develop leaders

Are you looking to improve or implement custom employee training content development for your organization? In this blog, we explain the training content development process and how you can begin building a more competent, productive, and engaged workforce.

The need for formal training

Only 41% of all US employees are formally trained, while 60% say they’ve never been formally trained. Often, this training occurs during onboarding or transition points, but “training” is a loose term—52% of companies provide one week or less of training. How effective can that one week really be?

Training content encompasses all materials used to educate employees about their roles, responsibilities, company policies, processes, products…you name it. Traditionally, employee training relied on extensive paper manuals, PowerPoint presentations, and instructor-led seminars.

However, companies are beginning to recognize the need to pivot their training content development process. Instead of printing more mind-numbing employee training manuals, companies are rethinking how to produce training – videos, games, and eLearning are all more engaging alternatives.

When do you need training content?

Here are a few common scenarios in which creating training content is essential:

• When an organization wants to offer a new product or service
• When onboarding new employees
• When introducing a new process or system into the workplace
• When implementing changes

Keep in mind that employees are never fully trained. There is always more to learn, which is where the “development” part of “employee training and development” comes into play. Ongoing development is essential to building an agile workforce.

What goes into the training content development process?

While every company is unique in its L&D needs, there are some common steps for creating training content that can get you started:

Assess your training needs

Before diving into creating training content, assess your organization's specific training needs. This involves identifying areas where knowledge and skills gaps exist, understanding the challenges your employees or customers face, and determining what learning objectives need to be addressed. Conducting a thorough needs assessment will provide a solid foundation for designing effective training content.

Set your training goals

Once you've pinpointed the areas requiring training, you should clearly define your training goals and objectives. These goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Your goals will serve as the compass for the training content development process, ensuring that you deploy training that aligns with the desired outcomes.

Partner with a corporate training and development company

Assessing your needs and defining your goals before this step is helpful, but not essential. A corporate training and development company can walk you through the training content development process from step one. Companies like Unboxed Training & Technology design and develop employee training content that’s custom, engaging, effective, and aligned with your goals and best practices in adult learning.

Implement the training content

Once your training content is complete, it's time to roll it out. The implementation process involves choosing the appropriate delivery methods and skill-building platform for your content. It can be helpful to launch a “pilot program” before implementing your new employee training program across the company to gain feedback and make any necessary revisions.

Measure results

Measurement involves assessing the effectiveness of the training program over time. You can use various metrics and evaluation methods, such as learner assessments, feedback surveys, or performance indicators, to gauge the impact of the training. This feedback loop helps you make data-driven decisions to improve future content and training initiatives.

To get the most out of your L&D investment, collaborating with experts in the field can enhance the quality of your materials and improve outcomes. Keep in mind that your training content should continually evolve to meet the changing needs of your organization and learners. When you have a corporate learning strategy consultant supporting your employee training initiatives, you can proactively adjust content to stay ahead of the curve.

Your custom employee training content development experts

You can carry out the training content development process in countless ways, but the digital age requires a modern approach. Considering employee training can drastically improve business performance, you’ll want to make sure you do it right by partnering with L&D experts.

At Unboxed Training & Technology (Unboxed), we create engaging custom content across departments, from customer service to sales. Designed from the ground up to improve Skill Agility®, we offer comprehensive tools that enable you to deliver content your learners want to consume and track the results.

Ready to learn more about how Unboxed can help you create outstanding learning experiences for employees? Schedule a demo today to get started.