| Coaching | By talking through a problem or task with a coach/manager, employees can arrive at a solution or better method of working | - Cost-effective if done in-house
- Specific to your business's needs
| - Coach or manager needs to be coached initially
- Can be time-consuming
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| E-learning | Employees follow courses online | - Employees teach themselves at their convenience
- Low cost
| - Courses tend to be general rather than specific to your business's needs
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| Evening classes | Training through classes held in the evenings | - No disruption to employees during working hours
| - May disrupt the work-life balance for staff
- Employees may resent having to attend classes in the evening and may not turn up
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| Workshops | A group of employees trains together under the supervision of a trainer, which typically involves explanation, examples, trying out the skill or method, reviewing what happens, and considering developments and alternatives | - Employees practice solving problems
| - Time-consuming - typically takes at least half a day, if not more
- May be disruptive to your business if many employees attend at the same time
- Can be expensive if you send numerous employees to workshops
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| Study leave | Employees are given paid leave to attend courses and attain a recognised qualification | - Both the business and employee benefit
- Can be a good recruitment incentive
- Tax relief may be available on the cost, of course,
| - May be difficult to decide who is eligible
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| Induction | Formal or informal way of helping a new employee to settle down quickly in the job by introducing them to people, the business, processes, etc | - Great way to help a new employee get started and understand key organisational processes
- Can be formal or informal
- Low cost
- Focused on new employees and those starting new roles
| - May take up a large part of a manager's time if many new people start at the same time
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| Job shadowing | One employee observes another employee going about their job | - Low cost
- Specific to your business/their role
| - There isn't a chance for hands-on practical experience to be gained
- This may give a false perspective of the job role, depending on the person being shadowed and when the job shadowing is taking place.
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| Mentoring | A more senior person typically supports an executive, manager, or director by providing advice, support, and a forum for discussing problems | - Provides personal development
- Low-cost
| - Limited to more senior employees
- For mentoring to be effective, the personalities and experiences of the mentor and employee need to be complementary
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Networking / seminars
| Employees attend a seminar on a specific topic - this can be in-house, at an industry event, or organised by a training specialist | - Useful way of getting a lot of information over to a large audience
- At industry events and seminars organised by training specialists, employees can talk to their peers as competitors/partners
| - Employees may be unable to discuss specific problems in front of rivals
- Retention of information may be low if there is a lot of information to convey to employees
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| Distance learning | Employees train through courses devised by educational institutions (eg, Open University) but are not required to attend traditional classes | - Increasingly web-based
- Employees can learn at their convenience
| - Courses tend to be general rather than specific to your business's needs
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| Simulation / role-playing | Typically, employees in a particular department (eg, sales) come together to take on roles to help work through possible scenarios (eg, customer complaint)
| - Employees learn by doing and are prepared for possible situations at work
- Specific to your business
- Can be led by a manager
| - Artificial situations remove the stress and complexities that may occur in a real-life situation
- There is always room for error when creating a situation in a training environment
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