Workplace Communication Training Module

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Module Goals and Outcomes
Training Resources
Productivity Tools
Assessment Methods
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The interaction between customers and employees is a vital means of achieving greater understanding and business success. Even the most qualified employees sometimes do not keep pace with the constantly evolving and deepening requirements of the market. Quite often, the professionals who demonstrate good knowledge in the process of hiring are not competent enough. Communication needs identified in the previous assignments shows that one of the employee training goals is to enhance the extent to which the staff can communicate effectively. This paper presents a module of training in the form of the instructional guide, including the objectives and outcomes to be accomplished, as well as resources, productivity tools, and evaluation methods.

Module Goals and Outcomes

The proper identification of training goals largely determines the outcomes and the overall quality of mastering new skills. The first goal is to uncover the barriers to communication that are most often faced in the company’s practice. In particular, such topics as the conflict of interests and attitudes, over communication, controversial information, and self-expression can be discussed. The listening skills refer to the second goal that can be justified by the need to use listening practices and differentiate between listening and leaving. This goal is likely to explain to employees the importance of listening in their workplace and also clarify some listening methods, which would promote trust building and value co-creation (Ford, 2014).

Increasing awareness of non-verbal communication can be regarded as the third goal, which includes types, characteristics, and functions. When customers visit a store, they are likely to focus on the products and consider them, while their facial and bodily expressions may tell a lot about their feelings and emotions. Therefore, the staff should recognize these signs and act accordingly to help the customers with making an individual choice.

The model outcomes are related to disseminating relevant knowledge about communication practices and theories. The values promoted across this module are understanding each other and clients, listening empathetically, and trust building. The most important outcome is the comprehension of the process of communication and barriers that may occur. The other operational outcome of this module is associated with the identification and use of active listening techniques and non-verbal communication. The theoretical underpinnings that would be mastered as a result of this module are to be discussed within the next training sessions.

As for the benefits of accomplishing the mentioned goals, one may claim that they would lead to the improved personal effectiveness of employees and better motivation for enhanced performance (Hanaysha, 2016). The creation of more conscious and balanced interpersonal relationships within a team and with customers is another advantage.

Training Resources

The teaching aids that will be necessary for the proposed model are audio and visual resources, tasks for learners, and facilities. The information to be adopted by the employees will be presented on the virtual platform with the use of the learning management system (LMS) software. This application seems to be the most advanced and technologically-efficient method to deliver training materials to the target audience (Lal, 2015).

The online format of the module will imply that the staff accesses the virtual platform through their computers or tablets and views / downloads necessary materials. Therefore, the devices should have proper access to the Internet, and the employees should be given login and password details to enter the learning environment. The structured module content will contain tests, tables, videos, images, presentations, and other visual and audio data. The module will end with a list of questions to be considered by the employees for the discussion during the subsequent training sessions.

Among other resources that will be important for this module, there are learning materials to be created and structured. For example, a presentation is an effective tool to convey information to the audience for which it is developed to offer easily apprehensible information about the topics. It is created on the basis of slides that continuously go in a certain given sequence. The presentation is accessible to everyone, and it is convenient to work with it for both beginners and those who are already familiar with this method of presenting information. In this form, information is understood and remembered by a person better.

Illustrations also help the readers to quickly understand what is being discussed and create certain images related to the theme. Also, a diagram is a graphic technique that is useful to structure the process, identify possible causes of the problem, and suggest potential solutions. This type of resources allows analyzing the causes of events more deeply, setting goals and showing internal connections between different parts of the target theme.

Productivity Tools

The obvious advantages of using LMS are that such a system saves time and money on trainers ’visits, helps to maintain uniform standards for work in branches, providing the opportunity to set individual development plans and receive visual performance statistics. The first step implies choosing a virtual platform and uploading the training materials to the LMS. The process of loading them is similar to working with Google Drive and other services for storing files. The characteristic feature of LMS is the presence of different user roles, of which a user is the most common role. The users can take the courses and materials assigned to them that are available for study.

The administrators manage educational materials and assign courses to users (Bakar, Jalil, & Udin, 2017). The ability to measure training effectiveness is one of the main reasons why more and more companies are starting to use training management systems. The detailed statistics will show the time spent by employees on studying materials and progress they achieved.

Acrobat Pro is one of the most convenient tools for working with PDF files. The program has many functions with which one can work with electronic documentation, translate it into the desired formats, and even cooperatively edit files. By connecting to the Document Cloud, users can connect to Acrobat Pro from their smartphone, tablet, and home PC, so that the team can work even outside the office with a convenient program.

Moreover, the documents open exactly at the place where one finished editing or reading, even if the user logged in from another device (Masi & Carlson, 2015). For example, if an employee wants to highlight some parts that are important or cause questions, this tool allows doing it easily. Adobe Acrobat Pro for Mac devices is a functional tool for efficient work since it supports touch devices and the creation of documents of the highest quality. The program can play text files aloud on Mac devices, which provides another convenient format of learning.

Assessment Methods

In order to better understand the effectiveness of the module, the educator should implement a range of evaluation methods. The evidence shows that the use of pre- and post-knowledge tests can be rather beneficial for assessing the extent to which the employees adopted new material (Diamantidis & Chatzoglou, 2014). Before beginning the module, all the involved employees should be given a test with the questions on communication in the organization. The same knowledge-based questionnaire with minor changes should be offered after the module to analyze how their answers changed. The questions should be focused on the learning objectives and experience of the staff members. In particular, it seems to be useful to link their practice and new knowledge for the purposes of evaluation.

The assessment of the learning environment is one more method that is also known as trainer evaluation. This recommendation is based on the assumption that the atmosphere in which the employees learn affects the outcomes and the progress of the process. For instance, the extent of employee engagement, the time needed to complete the module, and the interaction of the staff should be considered. In case the trainees answer questions, it can be regarded as a sign of effective knowledge acquisition since thought-provoking ideas emerge. The amount of knowledge and skills mastered by the employee should be documented to compare this parameter in the next modules. It will provide an opportunity to see the level of development and deepening of professional knowledge. Based on the new information, the employee may offer innovative solutions aimed at optimizing the work, which is one more positive outcome.

The post-training participant feedback method of assessment can be recommended for ensuring that the employees understand the value of this module. Diamantidis and Chatzoglou (2014) state that proper questions should be posed to reveal the attitudes of the participants regarding the offered module. For example, it should be clarified what went wrong and what new information was obtained. The assumptions of employees about what could be done better or what could be done differently can also be collected.

The effectiveness of the model can be determined by the level to which employees are satisfied with the training. More to the point, the relevance of the topics provided is to be revealed based on the group discussion or by means of email messages sent to the educator. Namely, an informal reflection is one of the strategies for learning about employee perceptions. In other words, the feedback should be received from the model participants as a part of the entire evaluation process. Based on the results of the assessment, the subsequent models are to be adjusted accordingly.

Conclusion

To conclude, this paper presents the training module that is aimed to disseminate knowledge about effective communication at the workplace, namely, interacting with colleagues and customers. The key goal of this module is identified as the increase in the quality of communication, which is to be based on the recognition of barriers, non-verbal communication, and active listening. The training resources needed for the proposed module include the learning management system software, visual resources, and computers / other devices. To improve the results of learning, it is suggested to use Acrobat Pro that allows editing files and accessing them in a convenient manner. The recommended methods for evaluating the module outcomes include post-training participant feedback, trainer evaluation, and pre- and post-knowledge tests.

References

Bakar, M. S. A., Jalil, D., & Udin, Z. M. (2017). Knowledge repository: Implementing learning management system into corporate environment. Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering (JTEC), 9(2-12), 141-145.

Diamantidis, A. D., & Chatzoglou, P. D. (2014). Employee post‐training behaviour and performance: evaluating the results of the training process. International Journal of Training and Development, 18(3), 149-170.

Ford, J. K. (2014). Improving training effectiveness in work organizations. New York, NY: Psychology Press.

Hanaysha, J. (2016). Examining the effects of employee empowerment, teamwork, and employee training on organizational commitment. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 229, 298-306.

Lal, P. (2015). Organizational learning management systems: time to move learning to the cloud!. Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, 29(5), 13-15.

Masi, D. A., & Carlson, K. (2015). Response to the challenge of training international EAP professionals: An online certificate program. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 30(1-2), 191-208.

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