Role and responsibility of Training Manager

The role of a training manager is challenging yet rewarding. Good training managers help bridge
skills gaps in a company’s workforce—boosting productivity, reducing errors, and increasing
customer satisfaction. They also help improve employee engagement and so much more.

But training managers are often disconnected from the rest of HR, and their role is easily
misunderstood.

Whether you’re looking to hire a great training manager or be one yourself, you’ve come to the
right place. Below, we look at 10 common duties of a successful training manager to highlight
their key roles and responsibilities.

Identify Training Needs

Training managers have the difficult task of creating training plans that meet the needs of their
workforce, organization, and local regulations.

To do this, they must fully understand and connect with their company’s mission and goals. Only
then can they assess workers’ performance against these goals.

Reviewing customer feedback and workers’ performance is a great way to identify skills and
knowledge gaps. On top of this, training managers may be required to create practical
assessments to spot areas of improvement in their workforce.

Finally, it’s also their job to ensure that their training plans complies with regulatory and
compliance needs.

Develop and Implement Training Programs

All training manager job descriptions have one key role in common: creating training programs.

Diverse workforces are going to have different learning styles, needs, and paces. An effective
training manager needs to consider these differences.

It’s important to study the target audience and design a training curriculum that uses different
delivery methods—like e-learning platforms, classroom training techniques, and on-the-job
learning.

For example, today’s workforce is largely made up of millennials and Gen Z teams. They’ve
grown up in an era of social media and technology. Training managers can create online courses
for them that are fun, personalized, and engaging.

Organize Learning and Development Events

The roles and responsibilities of a training manager go beyond designing courses. They have to
plan and manage learning and development events such as seminars, workshops, and
conferences. Tasks might include curating topics, booking locations, sourcing speakers, and
more.
Sometimes, they may need to provide alternative solutions where events are expensive or
inconvenient. For example, a training manager could host webinars for distributed teams who
can’t attend in person. This way, workers can learn, network, and connect with company culture
from anywhere.

Provide Career Development Support

The role of a training manager also extends to supporting employees in progressing their careers.
For example, they can coach new supervisors on team management skills or ask senior managers
to provide job-specific coaching.

They may also need to organize, run, and track the effectiveness of mentorship programs. It’s the
training manager’s role to source and match employees with suitable mentors who can help them
navigate their career goals.

Manage the Employee Onboarding Process

Helping new hires integrate and contribute to company goals can be tricky, as new employees
come with varying skill levels. They also need to be brought up to speed within a certain
timeframe.

Training managers can facilitate this by creating and providing simple training courses and
materials. For example, they can write up standard operating procedures (SOPs) to explain tasks
in more detail. Also, training managers should ensure the SOPs are easy for new employees to
understand.

They can also lead orientation training to introduce employees to the company’s culture and
working practices. Additionally, where a new hire lacks expertise, a training manager can match
them with an onboarding buddy or have them shadow experienced colleagues.

Track Training and Development Progress

It’s essential for training managers to ensure that employees complete the activities assigned to
them. With e-learning platforms, they can track the real-time progress of employees. Plus, they
can send reminders to employees who haven’t completed their required courses.

With in-person or virtual classrooms, monitoring attendance is an easy way to track completion.
However, some training managers go above and beyond this. For example, they track
participation levels by using interactive sessions. Or, they restrict the use of mobile phones
during training.

Finally, it’s also their job to report or take disciplinary action against employees who don’t
comply.

Assess Effectiveness of Training Programs

Evaluating the success of programs falls under training manager responsibilities. They establish
key performance indicators (KPIs) that training programs need to meet, such as the return on
investment (ROI). Measuring training ROIs is a tricky business, though. It’s easy to assess the
costs of training but difficult to determine the returns.
That’s why successful training managers use other KPIs, too! They develop surveys and check in
with workers to gather feedback on how employees feel about the training they’ve received.

They could also use more objective measures like completion rates and training quiz scores.
Plus, they could look at performance reviews to check for improvements post-training.

Manage Training Budget

It’s the role of a training manager to stick to the company’s training budget. They prioritize
courses that align with company goals and provide the best value for money. Also, they negotiate
with external trainers, vendors, and other suppliers to lower costs or receive discounts.

It’s also their duty to keep track of training expenses. This includes trainer fees, travel expenses,
technology and equipment costs, and more.

Build and Maintain Relationships

Training managers also need to connect frequently with employees and managers. This way,
they can gather feedback on what training content is working and where any knowledge gaps
are.

They must also build relationships with senior leaders who they can count on for coaching and
mentoring other employees.

Networking with external vendors is also a part of the job. This is a great way to learn about the
latest offerings and negotiate the best price with relevant providers.

But managing so many relationships can be tricky, especially if stakeholders are in multiple
locations. Training managers also need to find a way to strengthen these relationships
virtually.

Stay Up-to-Date With a Modern Workforce

Successful training managers regularly review and update their materials. Today’s workforce
contains even more deskless, remote, and hybrid employees than ever before. Thus, training
managers have to adapt their methods to stay up to date with their employees’ needs.

For example, mobile-first learning allows workers to access their training from anywhere, and
real-world simulations offer a new way of training frontline workers.

Summary
Training managers have the challenging task of maintaining a skilled and knowledgeable
workforce. A successful training manager will create engaging training curriculums for
employees that comply with relevant regulations.

They also navigate working with limited training budgets while also ensuring that their programs
are meaningful and effective.
Finally, keeping up to date on the latest learning and development trends helps training managers
stay ahead of the curve and guarantee their offerings are top-quality.

Types of Employee Training

Before you develop employee training programs for your business, you’ll need to identify
what types of training you’ll offer your employees.
The following are the primary types of training to consider:
 Orientation and onboarding training. Onboarding training is essential for any
business and is used to familiarize new employees with their new jobs. The most
effective way to onboard new employees is with an onboarding app, and it ensures
that new hires have all the skills they need to do well in their roles. It also
integrates them into the organization smoothly, which is important for employee
retention and building a strong company culture for the long-term.
 Competency-based training. Competency training involves teaching a group of
skills, abilities, knowledge, and behaviors such as strategic planning or managing
resources effectively. Competency-based training can be used across teams
requiring the same skills to perform their different roles.
 Skill set training. Skill set training is when you teach a specific set of skills
employees need to do their jobs, for example, sales or marketing training.
Management training is another example and is frequently used by businesses to
identify and develop internal leadership potential. It ensures workers have the
knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to succeed as a manager.
 Skills-based training. Businesses will use skills-based training to teach
employees a specific technical skill that they need to use immediately in their role,
for example, learning a new software program or how to operate a new piece of
machinery. It keeps employees’ skills up to date and in line with competitors.
 Soft skills training. If employees interact with customers on a regular basis, soft
skills training can be useful. This type of training teaches interpersonal skills so
workers know how to properly interact and communicate with coworkers and
clients.
 Compliance training. Compliance training for employees may be mandated by
law depending on your industry. It can include topics such as workplace health
and safety, ethics, quality, diversity training, or the renewal of a professional
license. It’s usually aimed at minimizing risk, regulating a profession, or providing
a better workplace environment.
  Product or service training. This type of training explores the ins and outs of
your product or service, helping your employees to fully understand it. It’s often
prioritized for sales, customer services, or marketing teams so they can more
effectively communicate the features and benefits of your product or service.
 Ongoing training and professional development. Ongoing training for
employees provides long-time workers with skills to further develop their
knowledge and capabilities. It keeps workers up to date on industry trends,
technologies, and best practices. Professional development training also fosters
employee engagement and satisfaction, leading to better employee happiness.

Employee Training Tools and Methods

Your employee training methods are just as important as the training content itself. Based
on your business, you may find that certain employee training tools are more effective
than others. Or, you may find that a combination of different formats works best. You
don’t have to just choose one—mix and match different types of training tools and
methods to maximize the training impact.

In-person training
While in-person employee training is more difficult to organize, this type of training
method may be necessary in certain situations. Also, federal and state regulations may
require you to offer some of your training in person. Safety and security training, for
example, typically requires some kind of in-person assessment. Plan your training
strategy with this in mind.
In-person training can be held onsite at your organization or at an external location. This
instructor-led training is conducted either by someone experienced within your
organization or an external provider and can include workshops, seminars, role playing,
or training days.
The downsides of in-person training are that it’s difficult to find a time that suits
everyone and it can also be expensive once you factor in costs such as travel costs, venue
hire, food for the day, and training costs.

Blended learning
Blended learning is a combination of both online and in-person training and offers more
flexibility and cost savings, compared to in-person training. You can use blended learning
as a permanent approach to training your employees, or use it short-term to help
employees transition to online learning completely.

Peer training
Peer training, or collaborative learning, involves employees learning from each other,
such as through coaching or mentoring. Interactive training like this is an ideal way to
share and build knowledge within your business.
While peer training often happens organically between employees, it can be useful to
deliberately incorporate peer training withing your training program.

Job rotation
A practical approach to employee training, job rotation involves moving employees
laterally between different tasks or roles to learn new knowledge and skills. As well as
variety, job rotation also gives employees a better and broader understanding of the
business.
However, it’s important to develop a job rotation strategy to ensure this type of training is
beneficial rather than disruptive to employees and your business.

Individual or group training

The subject matter you’re covering may influence whether to train employees
individually or as a team. While individual training can be tailored to suit an employee’s
specific needs and gives them the flexibility to complete the training when convenient,
group training may also serve as a good team-building opportunity, promoting
collaboration.

Internal or outsourced
Internal training is preferable because it’s cheaper and allows you to customize your
training program as needed so all your materials are specific to your business. You can
also reuse the materials for future trainings, and update them as needed. The training is
administered by your own staff, however, you can streamline the process and make it
much easier to administer if you use a training app.
Alternatively, you can outsource your training, and can be very time consuming.
However, this is incredibly costly and the training tends to follow a “one-size-fits-all”
approach, so isn’t really customizable to your unique training needs. External companies
facilitate outsourced training and requires a lot of logistics and planning to implement.
You also need to find a day for all your staff to gather in one place, which can prove
difficult. However, instructors will be experienced and knowledgeable and will provide
their own materials.

7 Tips for Creating an Effective Employee Training

Program
Let’s go over some key tips on how to create a training program for your employees:
Define training goals and objectives
Before deciding what training to offer your employees, it’s essential to identify what you
want to achieve with it. Your training plan should support your business’ broader
business strategy. For this reason, be sure to consult with other managers when designing
an employee training program.
This helps you define the goals and objectives of your training program. Ask yourself
questions such as:
 How is this training supporting our business goals?
 How will this training improve our retention rate?
 How will we ensure our training is engaging?
For example, if one of your business goals is to decrease labor costs, an aspect of your
training could focus on training employees how to use a specific piece of machinery more
efficiently.
Identify training needs with a training needs analysis
Once you’ve identified a key set of training objectives, conduct a training needs analysis
to further narrow down what employees need to learn and how you’ll get there.
Speak with managers to collectively identify recurring knowledge gaps and key
information and skills that your employees need to know. Keep in mind that each role in
the company may have different employee training needs, so be sure to identify now just
what workers need to know, but which ones specifically.
If your training needs are greater than your training budget, identify the most urgent areas
to focus on and prioritize those first. For example, if you run a restaurant and you’ve
noticed employees are not using the POS system correctly, resulting in too many kitchen
errors, training your staff to use the software correctly should be at the top of your
training priorities.
You might want to read our 10 Best Restaurant Training Courses review.
Collect employee feedback
It’s also a good idea to involve your current employees when creating a training program.
Whether you are focusing on new employee training or creating a professional
development program, your employees are the ones directly impacted by your training, so
their input is valuable.
A survey app is an easy way to collect employee feedback. You can ask about their
professional goals, knowledge gaps, and preferred learning styles. Include multiple
choice and open-ended questions to get a combination of data you can analytically
measure as well as direct employee feedback.
🧠 Did You Know?
Involving your employees in the process reinforces that you value their opinion—and
employees are going to engage more with a program that’s directly there to benefit their
professional development.
Tailor your training program
Training programs are not a one size fits all proposition. When building an employee
training program, you should tailor both the type of training and the delivery method to
suit the needs of your employees, their roles, and the organization. This helps employees
develop the skills and abilities they need to do the job, while also supporting your
business strategy.
For example, if you manage a contracting company and have teams working all over the
city, scheduled onsite training might be too difficult to regularly coordinate. Consider
creating a quick course on the topic at hand and delivering it to your workers through
your employee training app. That way, they can access the course at any time, anywhere.

💡 Pro Tip:
When you’ve uploaded a training course, set a pop-up to appear the next time employees
open the app. That way, you can announce the new course and be sure that all employees
are aware of the training. Let them know the course topic and deadline, and you can even
include a Read button they need to tap so you can know they’ve read the information.
This type of self-directed training puts employees in charge of their own learning. Of
course, it’s important to be available for questions and feedback, which you can easily do
with in-app chat. You should also create an online knowledge base where you can store
all employee training manuals and materials so they’re always accessible.
However, hands-on training or practical skills training may be necessary for certain skills,
like learning how to operate a new piece of machinery.
Measure results
It’s impossible to know whether your training program is effective without measuring the
results. There are several ways to measure the effectiveness of your employee training:
 Performance metrics: Track relevant performance indicators such as
productivity, sales figures, customer satisfaction ratings, or error rates to identify
improvements or changes following the training. Compare these metrics before
and after the training to measure their impact.
  Employee surveys: Conduct employee surveys to gather feedback about the
training program. Feedback can provide insights into the relevance, usefulness,
and applicability of the training content, materials, and delivery methods.
 Pre- and post-training assessments: Administering assessments before and after
the training helps determine the knowledge or skills employees gained. Then, you
can compare the scores to measure training effectiveness.
In addition, it’s useful to measure your employees’ level of engagement with a training
program. You can see how much time they’re spending on the training, if they’re asking
questions, or providing any feedback. This is especially easy to do with an online training
app, like Connecteam.
If you’re not seeing the results you wanted from your training program, it may be time to
review and adjust it.
Review your training program often
Even effective training programs should be regularly reviewed and updated as needed.
Your training program should be refreshed to accommodate any changes in your
business, like workplace processes, technical skills, or changes in staff.
Fortunately, a cloud-based employee management app makes this incredibly easy
because all your training courses and materials are stored online in one place.
Training should be ongoing
Successful training plans are a marathon, not a sprint. Delivering a one-day training
seminar won’t achieve much. Instead, a training program needs to be ongoing and in-
person events should be planned well in advance to encourage maximum attendance.
Offering a range of training opportunities throughout the year ensures your employees’
technical knowledge stays up to date and helps structure their professional development.
It also helps the organization to optimize its training budget.