Choosing the right employee training topics is equally important as delivering training, if not more.
If you want a ready list of in-demand corporate training topics, I can help.
Based on my analysis of the online training & learning industry, here are the topics that I found many employees and organizations seek the most these days.
List of Trending Employee Training Topics
1. Sexual Harassment Prevention
Between 54% and 81% of women report experiencing some level of sexual harassment at work.
Sexual harassment charges accounted for a greater percentage of total charges received by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) between FY 2018 and FY 2021.
During the same financial year, men filed 21.8% of sexual harassment charges.
As you can see, sexual harassment is pervasive and it is legally and ethically unacceptable.
It is one of the common training topics for managers and employees administered according to state-wise requirements. The training is designed to educate individuals about what constitutes sexual harassment and how to prevent it in the workplace. It aims to promote a safe and respectful work environment for all employees.
The training typically covers the definition of sexual harassment, types of sexual harassment, examples and case studies, company policies, reporting procedures, and bystander intervention.
Pro tip: To make sexual harassment prevention training impactful, consistent, and sustainable, make sure you use professionally created courses and a robust learning management system (LMS).
2. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or simply DEI training, promotes the respect and appreciation of individuals from diverse backgrounds. It ensures equal opportunities and fair treatment for all by recognizing and valuing differences in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, religion, socioeconomic status, and more.
The training is significant as it leads to enhanced employee engagement and retention, expanded talent pool, greater collaboration, and a harmonious work environment.
Pro tip: Create a safe space for open and honest dialogues. Encourage employees to share their experiences, perspectives, and suggestions. Promote facilitated conversations, diversity resource groups, or anonymous feedback mechanisms.
3. Communication Skills
“Communication is the solvent of all problems and is the foundation for personal development.” – Peter Shepherd
Running a business, working on a project, or developing a software product is seldom a one-man show. They require teamwork and for this, interpersonal skills are a must.
As one of the essential topics for training and development, communication skills focus on improving an individual’s ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and non-verbally, in a professional setting. This includes skills such as active listening, speaking, writing, and presenting.
Effective communication is highly sought after in every industry today, regardless of job role or position in a company. This is because it is instrumental in building a collaborative work environment, healthy relationships, effective leadership and management, customer satisfaction, and career advancement.
Pro tip: Give your employees opportunities to practice and apply the skills in real-life situations. Encourage them to actively engage in conversations, presentations, and meetings and seek feedback for continuous improvement.
4. Leadership & Management
The roles of corporate managers and leaders have undergone transformation in recent times. Traditional management styles, characterized by top-down decision-making and hierarchical structures, have given way to more collaborative and inclusive approaches.
Today, businesses and employees require leaders and managers who are adaptable, agile, empathetic, and ethical, and who can act as ideal mentors or coaches.
So, organizations should train their employees on this topic to continuously adapt to evolving expectations.
Leadership and management training covers topics such as communication skills, team building, problem-solving, decision-making, time management, conflict resolution, and strategic planning.
The training is usually designed to help participants acquire the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to succeed in leadership and management roles.
Pro Tip: After completing the training program, let participants take the time to reflect on their behavior and performance as a leader or manager. Identify areas where they need to improve and develop specific goals for putting their new skills into practice.
5. Time Management
Did you ever wonder why many people often complain they don’t have time when we all have 24 hours in a day?
Feeling overwhelmed with one’s responsibilities and commitments is mostly a fallout of a lack of effective time management skills.
These skills play a vital role in managing one’s schedule effectively. By learning to prioritize tasks, set goals, and plan ahead, individuals can make better use of their time.
This is what this employee training topic is all about. It educates employees on how to live a more balanced and fulfilling life, reducing the feeling of not having enough time.
The training teaches self-awareness, discipline, and a willingness to make changes to one’s routine to overcome the common perception of not having enough time. It’s a learnable skill that can be improved upon with practice.
Pro tip: Use the “80/20 rule” or the Pareto Principle. Focus on identifying and prioritizing the few crucial tasks that will yield the most significant outcomes, instead of trying to do everything at once. This will help maximize productivity and make the most of employees’ time.
6. Conflict Resolution
“Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.” – Max Lucado
In the bustling offices of an MNC, tension hung thick in the air as two prominent team members, Tim and Xavier, found themselves locked in a heated disagreement. The source of the conflict? A high-stakes project that had both of them vying for control and recognition.
As deadlines loomed, tempers flared, and collaboration became an elusive concept. The clash of personalities and conflicting work styles fueled a growing discord that threatened to undermine the entire team’s cohesion.
In the midst of this professional storm, the question emerged: How could the team weather this conflict and emerge stronger on the other side?
This is where a formal conflict resolution training program can come to the rescue.
Conflict is inevitable among humans because it arises from differing perspectives, opinions, needs, and expectations. Conflict in the workplace is mainly due to differences in work styles, goals, communication misunderstandings, and resource constraints.
Conflict resolution training develops skills in identifying, addressing, and resolving conflicts effectively. It creates a healthier work environment.
Pro tip: When faced with a conflict, try to approach the situation with empathy and active listening. Empathy allows you to understand the other person’s perspective, while active listening ensures that their views are acknowledged. By doing so, you can work towards finding a mutually satisfactory resolution and build stronger relationships in the process.
7. Safety Training
Safety training refers to the process of providing knowledge and skills to employees and supervisors to prevent accidents, injuries, and occupational hazards in the workplace.
Examples of workplace safety training topics include fall hazards, cybersecurity, OSHA, PPE, confined spaces safety, and ladder and scaffolding safety.
In addition to legal compliance, personal and property safety is one of the main reasons organizations should deliver this training at regular intervals.
Particularly, high-risk industries, such as construction, manufacturing, mining, and healthcare, should prioritize this training to ensure employee safety all the time.
Pro tip: Safety training is not a one-time event but an ongoing commitment to employee well-being and organizational sustainability. So, make sure you develop a long-term training plan, execute it, and track outcomes. Here, industry-specific training solutions can prove useful.
8. Compliance Training
The primary purpose of compliance training is to ensure that employees understand and adhere to the laws, regulations, policies, and ethical standards relevant to their industry or organization.
Common compliance training topics across industries include HIPAA, OSHA, anti-money laundering, and HR compliance matters, such as data security, drug-free workplace, AODA, and FLSA.
Please note that safety and compliance training topics are often intertwined, as they both address aspects of maintaining a safe and legally compliant work environment.
Some compliance topics may be more relevant to specific industries than others. Also, the content of compliance training programs can vary from basic awareness training to in-depth and specialized training, depending on the needs of the organization and its employees.
Pro tip: Make compliance training interactive and engaging by incorporating real-life scenarios and case studies. This way, participants can understand the importance of compliance in their day-to-day roles and take part in ongoing learning and application of compliance best practices.
Case Study: How AppFolio created effective compliance training to meet industry requirements
9. Stress Management
80% of workers feel stress on the job, and workplace stress causes 120,000 deaths in the US each year by exacerbating underlying health conditions.
Stress management is an important employee training topic that is gaining more attention in recent years. Many organizations are recognizing the impact of stress on employee well-being, productivity, and overall job satisfaction. As a result, more emphasis is being placed on providing resources and training to help employees effectively manage stress.
The training focuses on teaching employees how to handle and cope with stress in the workplace effectively. The aim is to equip employees with strategies to handle work-related stressors, leading to improved mental health, reduced burnout, and increased resilience. It also helps individuals maintain a better work-life balance and enhance focus and concentration.
Pro Tip: Encourage employees to practice self-care techniques regularly, such as taking short breaks, engaging in physical exercise, and embracing relaxation techniques. Encourage open communication about stress and provide support.
10. Change Management
No organization can afford to remain stagnant. They need to be adaptable to a dynamic business environment to thrive.
This makes change management one of the top employee training topics. Change management entails planning, coordinating, and implementing changes within an organization. It is how you manage the transition from the current state to the desired future state to achieve organizational goals.
Change management helps minimize resistance to change, increases employee engagement and satisfaction, and drives successful outcomes for the organization.
Topics that are usually included in change management training are understanding the need for change, change management models and theories, communication and stakeholder engagement, managing resistance, and building change leadership skills.
Pro tip: When managing change, involve employees early on and throughout the process. Actively seek their input, listen to their concerns, and involve them in decision-making to increase their ownership and support for the change.
11. Emotional Intelligence
Though intelligence quotient (IQ) has a longer history, emotional intelligence (EI) has gained increased recognition in recent times.
EI is the ability to recognize and understand one’s own emotions, as well as those of others, and use that information to guide decision-making and behavior.
As an employee training topic, EI can help individuals develop key personal and professional skills, including self-awareness, interpersonal communication, empathy, and leadership. It can also help them identify and manage their own emotions and respond effectively to the emotions of others.
EI can contribute to a positive work environment, improved teamwork and collaboration, and better employee well-being and job satisfaction. This is because employees with high EI are often seen as more approachable, empathetic, and effective communicators.
Pro-tip: Encourage active listening in employees during their interactions with colleagues and customers. Let them focus on the person speaking, asking clarifying questions, and summarizing what was said to ensure understanding.
12. Customer Service
“Good customer service costs less than bad customer service.” – Sally Gronow
Customer service is a crucial topic in employee training for several reasons. Quality customer service leads to customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, brand reputation, and competitive advantage.
Customer service training equips employees with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide excellent service to customers. Generally, the training covers
- product or service knowledge
- communication skills
- empathy
- problem-solving skills
- handling difficult customers
- cross-cultural sensitivity
Regular and ongoing training is essential to keep customer service teams informed, engaged, and prepared to handle a variety of customer interactions effectively.
Pro tip: Develop strong interpersonal skills in your employees. Document customer service processes to maintain consistency and efficiency. Implement a system for collecting and analyzing customer feedback.
Take this cultural sensitivity quiz: https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=pp-intercultural-sensitivity-self-assessment
Choose Your Employee Training Topics Wisely
Selecting the right corporate training topics is half the battle. After that, you can start looking for purpose-built online training courses.
Preferably, the courses should be customizable, engaging, and self-paced. Also, they should be professionally designed and include completion certificates. Multimedia content, quizzes and assessments, and collaborative learning are other elements to consider.
Along with the courses, you may use a cloud LMS to deliver them. It is a cost-effective way to set up a centralized and scalable online training management system. You can even track progress in real-time and generate reports with these solutions.
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