Here at The Killswitch Collective, we are frequently building applications that are integrated into the sites we design. Depending on the needs of our clients, these applications can keep track of sales, visitors, registered user activity, you name it. Building these applications is in itself a significant task for our teams of programmers, but for our clients it is only the first step. As we turn over the finished product to our clients, they now have a business decision to make:

Do we simply let our employees using the software figure out how to use it by themselves? Or do we give them formal training in how to use the application?.

This is where research comes in. We strive to program all of our applications as intuitively as possible to keep the learning curve low, but ultimately each business we serve has its own employees with their own unique set of strengths and challenges. Developing training strategies can play a significant role in a company's adoption of new technology with both current and future employees.

Research helps to narrow down what sort of skills your company's personnel should be able to acquire in a training regimen. For simple, straight-forward functions, proficiency may be gleaned from nothing more than help documentation and a little one-on-one time with the software. For more involved applications and workflows, however, it might be necessary for more advanced training. For example, let's say that a site keeps track of sales records, and the easiest way to manipulate this data is to convert it to an Excel format. Excel is a very useful tool for making sense of numbers and drawing correlations between groups of data. Despite its popularity, however, there are still many people in the workforce with little to no experience with the software.

Taking this scenario into account, what would be the best approach to train these people in Excel? A how-to book? An Excel seminar? Hands on training? All of the above? The answer may be different for each organization and ultimately is factored by the overall expense, content expectation and return on investment. To put it most simply:

"What is the most effective way to get my employees to learn _____?"

1. Enroll employees into a training class.

Classes put on by third-parties are usually cost-effective thanks to the group environment. Most instructors have a class size limit (often no more than 30 students) so there is still a degree of one-on-one interaction with the teacher. If there are questions about the subject matter, most instructors are more than willing to help.

Advantages: Affordable (while limited) one-on-one support for students. Reinforceable materials are supplied and resources are developed. Fosters teamwork between cooperating students in the class.

Weaknesses: No oversight on the part of the employer. Classes are often 'one size fits all', so you run the risk of sending students who may find the subject matter to be too basic or too advanced.

2. Send employees to a seminar.

Seminars are by definition large gatherings of people that are there for the same purpose. Most seminars, especially those dealing with technologies, are quickly becoming popular (and crowded) events. Attendance can easily reach from the hundreds into the thousands.

Advantages: Plenty of documentation and information is available. The large numbers can often draw vendors touting the latest technologies and free software samples. Seminars give attendees the chance to network and make contacts with other people in their field.

Weaknesses: The large events can provide distractions from the goal of the seminar: training. One missed keynote lecture or hands-on-event can render a seminar ineffective. Participants have to be active learners to acquire the information they need. One-on-one support can be difficult to find due to the large numbers.

3. Hire a consultant to train employees in-house.

While owning the training facility is obviously a cost-saver, not all offices are adequately equipped or spacious enough to provide an effective training atmosphere.

Advantages: The cost is minimal if the company owns the necessary equipment (computers, white boards, sound equipment, projectors, etc). There are more consultants than seminars and classes available, which gives your company more leverage to broker a cost-effective deal.

Cons: Training either has to occur during the work day (which can impede daily workflow), or on the employees' own time over lunch, before/after work or on weekends (which would require cooperation and compensation). Either way, management should expect push-back and must be convinced of the value of the training.

4. Build your own training regimen.

This can be a daunting task unless you have a good support system, a competent research team and are confident understanding of your employees' skill levels. Many companies have pursued this route and find someone within the company who is an expert in the subject matter. They are asked, "What would you need if you were to learn the subject over? What would need if you wanted to learn the more advanced aspects of this subject?"

Advantages: If the company has subject matter experts who are comfortable with speaking and teaching, this can be extremely cost-effective since they are already on the payroll. It's cheaper to give a nice gift or small pay raise as a thank you than to pay thousands of dollars for any of the other training options. This training can promote teamwork within the company, and it gives employees a comfort level knowing that the expert will still be at the company after training is over.

Cons: Not every workplace has personnel with both the subject matter expertise and the ability to speak with confidence and competence. If an employee is pressured to do so, their training session could be disastrous and leave others questioning management's ability. While peer-to-peer training can have a pleasant familiarity to it, the students may not give the teacher the respect that an outside consultant would receive.

These are certainly not the only options so research, ask around, weigh the evidence and make your choice.