Refresher training

Refresher training it is course, which purpose is to recall and reinforce previously acquired skills and knowledge. The particular refresher program is designed for existing employees in the company. It is usually triggered when skills or knowledge of employee is becoming obsolete or outdated, due to the new technology and simply, due to human tendency to forgot things. Such trainings are crucial for company performance in longer term, as without well trained employees with knowledge of lates inventions; company may gradually loses its position on the market.

Advantages of refresher trainings

There are many benefits of refresher courses, which we may apply for both the employee and the employer. Company should recognize employees's needs and fields of knowledge that particular employees should improve. Those gaps should be spotted by managers and team leaders who are focused on daily demands of operations and request needed refresher training. Proper approach brings :

• increased efficiency
• reduced mistakes
• even employee knowledge base
• promotion of excellence and equality
• safety and compliance among employees
• costs savings (avoiding potential future issues)
• increased pool of talent
• increased self-confidence and empowerment of the employees

Topic examples of employee’ refresher trainings

There are many topics of trainings that should be conducted periodically, as refreshers for existing employees. Each subject depends on the field of the business, specifics of job any many more. Mentioned below examples are ones of the most important refresher training and in many cases, given topics are general for all businesses:

• Customer service skills

All employees are recognized as representatives of a company's brand. Therefore, they should be provided with periodical refresher trainings that will raise subject of customer interactions. The topic is essential for the company's growth and client loyalty. Every employee should be attentive, patient and have proper knowledge, when interacting with current customer or potential one.

• New products, services or programs

Through the year company implements changes, improve services or feature programs. It is crucial to provide all employees with training and prepare for the change. However, employer should always remember that in the moment when the training is conduced employee may not need to use the knowledge immediately. It happens that training is provided in not right time. Therefore, the refresher of the training should be organized once again, in accurate time. Employees are more efficient in the field, when the knowledge is as new and fresh as possible.

Limitations of Refresher training

Refresher training is an important and beneficial course for the employees, however, it has certain limitations. The main limitations of refresher training are:

• Firstly, refresher training cannot replace the need for new training programs. The refresher course may help maintain the basic skills and knowledge, however, if the new technology or position requires new skill sets, then refresher training cannot help in developing them.
• Secondly, refresher training is only helpful if the employee is willing to learn and adapt. If the employee is not motivated to learn or lacks the enthusiasm, then refresher training may not be effective.
• Lastly, refresher training is also limited by the time constraints and availability of resources. The trainer may not have enough time to deliver the refresher course, or the company may not have enough resources to invest in such courses.

Other approaches related to Refresher training

In addition to direct refresher training, there are other approaches that can be employed in order to ensure that employees remain up to date with the latest technologies and trends in the industry:

• Job rotation: Employees are shifted between the different departments in order to gain knowledge and experience in different areas. This helps employees gain a better understanding of the company's operations, while also providing an opportunity to learn new skills.
• Mentoring: An experienced employee can be assigned to guide and mentor a less-experienced employee, in order to share their knowledge and help them stay up to date with the latest technologies.
• Cross-training: Employees are trained on multiple tasks and different aspects of the job, so that they can better understand the company’s operations and how their individual tasks fit into the bigger picture.

Overall, refresher training is an important tool for keeping employees up to date with the latest technologies and trends in the industry. However, there are other approaches that can be taken to ensure employees are trained and remain up to date. These include job rotation, mentoring, and cross-training.

Footnotes

Refresher training — recommended articles

Multi skilling — Employment history — Skills transfer — Job shadowing — Learning and development perspective — Career pathing — Training and development — Employee attrition — Human capital investments

References

• AlYahya M.S., Mat N.(2013),Evaluation of effectivness of training and development: The Kirkpatrick Model, Asian Journal of Business and Management Sciences, Vol. 2 No. 11, pp 14-24
• Arneson J.,Naughton J.,Rothwell W.J.(2013),ASTD Competency Study: The Training & Development Profession Redefined, American Society of Training & Development, United States of America
• Ford K.J.(1996)Improving Training Effectiveness in Work Organizations, Psychology Press, New York
• Topno H.(2013),Evaluation of Training and Development: An Analysis of Various Models, IOSR Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp 16-22

Author: Anna Stach