Employee training. Some people think of it like the ante in poker: it’s the minimum stake to be in the game.

If you are like us, then you think of it more as a strategic advantage. Invest in developing your team, and your team will be invested in the success of your organization.

In today's competitive business environment, there is no shortage of training methods available to you. But if you have been immersed in a training program or two before, you know there is a clear difference between an effective-training program and one that runs your team stagnant. With the vast number of training methods and resources available to you, it can be daunting to determine which of these sources are going to equip your employees with the tools they need for better performance.

As Baby Boomers continue to retire at an accelerating rate, their immediate successors within Generation X will only be able to fill half of their positions, leaving the remainder open to less-experienced Millennials.

Onboarding and training new and existing team members can be a complex process for many organizations and their managers. "Managing people is one of the most time-consuming and difficult aspects of any job," writes Barrie Gross of allBusiness. "Whether you have one direct report or 20, the responsibilities loom large and finding the time to follow sound management practices in everything you do as a supervisor can be challenging."

Successful organizations are often determined by their process and their willingness to evolve. The more granular, and focused the organization is on planning, implementing, reviewing and refining its processes, the better. This method is often referred to as the plan-do-check-act cycle, aka PDCA, a four-step process used for continuous improvement. PDCA is an on-going and joint team effort that organizations use to ultimately improve products, services and internal processes for breakthrough performance.

Every organization wants productive, solution-driven employees on its team. Without them, you may notice a lag in workplace efficiency and a decline in the quality of your products and services. Well where are they, these effective, efficient team members? They are right there under your nose, in your organization. To empower your employees, you must provide them with the resources they need to perform and grow your business.

If your organization's human resources department and managers are onboarding new employees at a rapid rate, it can only mean one thing: You're growing, and that's a good thing. On the other side of the spectrum, if you lack the resources your new hires need to settle into their roles, they may become self-reliant, which isn't always a good thing. So how do you achieve the former, and provide your employees with proper training? And who should take responsibility of onboarding your new employees?

Having well-trained employees is the dream of every organization. If your current training program isn't covering enough ground or providing enough value, your employees will never receive the adequate training they need to create a competitive advantage for your organization. To overcome this obstacle, establish clear objectives for your new and existing training programs, plus a few key performance indicators to gauge the effectiveness of your program. This way, you won't waste time, effort and money on training efforts that provide little to no value for your team and your organization.

Hi, I’m the lead product manager here at KnowledgeWave, and I wanted to share with you some of the rationale and expertise that is behind the design of KLS, the KnowledgeWave Learning Site.

Change is inevitable, but it can be costly to your organization—especially if it manifests in a revolving door of employees. Did you know, however, that you can decrease the number of employees that turn over each year by improving the way your human resources staff recruits and onboards new hires?

Behind every successful business is a well-trained, enthusiastic team. As you may have already found in building or contributing to your venture, however, success doesn't happen overnight, and neither does a thriving team. It all starts with investing in your employees, so in turn they will invest in you and your organization. One way to emphasize this is through employee development and training. According to allBusiness, "Investing in your employees’ continuing education demonstrates that the company values its people and wants them to grow. Even after an individual joins an organization and the “honeymoon” period has passed, companies should continue to provide training on an ongoing basis for any skills that may be pertinent to the employee’s job."

Productivity can be an elusive concept. Even if you feel you and your employees are working effectively, projects can still bog down and somehow, mysteriously, end up missing the je ne sais quoi needed to really contribute to your bottom line. But you can move the needle if you take a careful look at your strategic training methods. If strategic training methods are already in place, but they're solely focused on leadership development, you may be missing out on a key opportunity to increase productivity across the board.

In today's business environment, staffing can feel like a revolving door, which is especially frustrating when you consider the costs of turnover—both hidden and evident. What if you could alleviate the rising cost of employee turnover? Don't underestimate the importance of your onboarding plan.

When it comes to software training, you can run into some particular snares that go beyond issues in presenting the information. For one, your audience might simply be less adept or lack confidence when it comes to technology, making it more difficult for them to take in the information even if you use a great training module. When you're working with beginners, it's necessary to take the time to understand their needs and train in a way that benefits them in particular.

Studies have shown time and again that it costs less to provide ongoing training to current employees than to hire new ones. An article in Chron discusses this relationship, stating: "The type of training necessary to bring an employee up to speed also impacts costs. On the job training, where workers perform their tasks and learn as they go, is relatively affordable, while lengthy induction training—the training you provide for workers before they’re ready to begin job functions—can incur higher costs." But even if you and your colleagues have embraced this concept, the effort to lower training costs doesn't end there. For many, virtual training is a cost-effective solution.