Retraining: Definition, Tips and Benefits for Your Company

Retraining means training people on new subjects and tasks. It comes into play when you’re hiring new employees coming from different professional backgrounds. 

Reskilling, on the other hand, means retraining workers for slightly different positions within your company. 

As for upskilling, it focuses on teaching new skills (using new software, for example) to current employees. 

While all three initiatives are essential for your organization, here is why you should pay attention to retraining in 2023!

First, potential candidates need to know that your company offers retraining opportunities. Updating your job offers accordingly will help you attract candidates who still need to meet all the qualifications for the position. 

You can even create social media posts promoting retraining for increased visibility!

During your interviews with candidates, make sure that you identify which skill they lack to prepare your retraining plan according to their needs. Tell them about your retraining program to stir up their interest. 

Also, take the time to discover the existing skills they can bring to your company. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Did you know that managers are 20% more satisfied with employees who have received formal onboarding training? Onboarding statistics show that training should be one of the main focuses of your onboarding plan, especially if you’re retraining new employees for a position. Here are the essential steps to create an efficient plan: 

• Set your retraining budget; 
• Identify your new hire’s needs and retraining goals; 
• Determine the duration of the retraining program;  
• Choose an onboarding buddy and onboarding supervisors; 
• Gather training resources, particularly e-learning onboarding materials; 
• Prepare a training schedule; 
• Pick a date to assess your new employee (probation evaluation).

While these steps might sound straightforward, they can be time-consuming and difficult to implement. Therefore, consider dematerializing your training process with training tools! 

Building retraining programs is time-consuming, and so are training courses themselves. 

Implementing an LMS in your company is the best way to gain time and increase training efficiency. 

You’ll no longer have to look for external resources to train your employees, and your staff will be able to be trained from a distance. A must-have for your hybrid and remote workers!

Furthermore, you will ensure that employees benefit from homogeneous courses, thus streamlining your entire training process. 

Now that your retraining process is complete, it is time to ensure it was successful. Again, efficient performance management is the best way to ensure that your employees are properly trained during their onboarding. 

Remember to prepare for their performance reviews and schedule several performance meetings during their first months at the company. 

Click here to discover the best tools to optimize your performance management!

Now that you’ve cleared all the steps of your retraining program, it’s time to visualize the benefits it brought to your company! 

A Human Resources Information System (HRIS) will help you calculate training costs and track employee performance over time. 

Furthermore, Key Performance Indicators will give you a clear view of employee retention and turnover rates, giving your company the strategic boost it needs to face every HR challenge ahead!