Benefits of Refresher Training and How To Get Started

Are you struggling to keep your workforce updated with changes in your industry and/or internal processes? Are there gaps in your team's knowledge and ability that's keeping your business from excelling amongst your competitors? Refresher training might just be your answer.

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As industries rapidly evolve, so too do the requirements of your workforce.

With technologies, protocols, and processes constantly in flux, you need to ensure your employees have their finger on the pulse. All this while keeping their existing knowledge in check. That’s a tall order!

But refresher training is a simple and elegant solution.

Keep reading to learn how refresher courses works, whether your employees need it, and how you can effortlessly implement it. 

What is Refresher Training

Refresher training is a system that aims to:

• update employees with advancements in your industry,
• keep them abreast of new internal processes,
• reinforce skills and information they already have,
• and ultimately help them gain confidence and pride in their work.

Usually, an experienced professional leads this kind of training. They ensure that participants follow the steps needed to improve their skills and knowledge so that they can do their jobs well and efficiently.

Say a customer service rep has been working in your company for a number of years. New tools and protocols have been added over time, the representative needs to adapt thoroughly. 

As a result, their work starts to get worse – call times get longer and mistakes begin to creep in.

Refresher training can help fill in the gaps in their knowledge, renew their sense of confidence, all while improving their accuracy and productivity.

In short, you’ll get back the rockstar of a customer service rep you had!

Benefits of Refresher Training

Even though refresher courses aims to improve employee performance, it also significantly benefits organizations. When all your whole team is equally confident and skilled, your business will be finely-honed and optimized for growth!

Let’s have a more in-depth look at what it offers for both your employees and your organization. 

Benefits of Refresher Training for The Organization

Employees run a company, and your organization will fail if their skills are not aligned with the company’s operational needs.

Refresher training is crucial in ensuring your business has an efficient and knowledgeable team. 

What else can it do for your organization? 

Enhanced Productivity

Well-trained, up-to-date staff contribute to faster and more efficient work processes. As a result, you don’t have to worry about your goals, and everything stays on track. 

Improved Compliance

Regular training updates help organizations comply with ever-changing industry regulations and avoid potential legal issues.

It's crucial to remind workers of the legal compliance requirements from time to time. As a result, your business is less likely to face costly penalties or fines.

Innovation and Leadership

A well-trained workforce is better positioned to innovate, helping the business lead rather than follow in its sector.

Refresher training also helps your organization identify leaders in your teams. Someone with a particular skillset or talent can always take charge to make sure everyone else is up to speed. 

Increased Employee Retention

Providing ongoing development opportunities can increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover rates. If you can ensure your employees feel confident about their job, they’ll feel less stressed. As a result, you will generate more loyalty among your team.

Benefits of Refresher Training for The Employees

For employees, refresher training is a chance to brush up on rusty knowledge and learn new things to stay current in their fields.

With the newfound confidence, they will start doing better than ever, bringing better results for your business. Here are some other benefits your team can enjoy from refresher training. 

Boosted Confidence

Regular training updates reassure employees about their capabilities and role proficiency. As a result, they feel more confident doing their jobs. This also ahs a knock-on benefit for your business since a confident team is a more productive team. 

Adaptability to Change

Employees trained in new technologies and methodologies are more adaptable and prepared for the new changes in the industry. This preparation makes it easier for your staff to adjust and thrive in line with emerging trends.

Career Advancement Opportunities

Continuous learning and development open up new paths for advancement within the company. As your workforce become more skilled and confident, they gain the capability to take on new challenges and positions. 

Personal Growth

Ongoing education helps employees meet their personal and professional goals. They become more loyal to your organization since they are growing their skills while working for your company. 

Signs Your Business Can Benefit from Refresher Training

Before you decide to dedicate time and resources to running a refresher training course, it's first worth assessing if it's actually necessary, and if so, what areas you need to focus on.

Identifying the need for a refresher course involves looking out for gaps in your employees' current skills and knowledge, frequent mistakes they are making, etc. 

Recognizing these signs early can prevent potential issues from escalating and keep your business competitive and successful. To make your job easier, here are some key signs you should look out for. 

Repeated Mistakes

If any of your employees make the same mistake repeatedly, that’s a sign your company could benefit from refresher training.

Low Technology Adoption Rates

If your employees struggle to adapt to changes in technology, refresher courses can help them. With a refresher course, you can ensure that your employees are updated with the latest software, tools, and technologies.  

Compliance Issues

Regular failures to meet legal or industry standards strongly indicate that training is urgently needed. This training will nudge employees to understand the legal rules and what they are doing wrong. 

Feedback from Employees

If your employees express or demonstrate confusion about certain protocols or are uncertain how a job needs to be done, these are signs that retraining is needed.

High Employee Turnover

If many new hires or long-term employees leave, this turnover can disrupt standard operations and require additional training to maintain consistency. Also, a high churn rate indicates that your team needs more confidence and motivation to do their jobs. 

Create an Online Refresher Training Course for Your Employees

Creating an online refresher course for your staff is an efficient way to disperse information and ensure existing and newly onboarded employees are updated with advancements and new processes.

Online courses can be taken by any one at any time, from anywhere, so you can easily assign individual workers or your entire team the task of taking specific courses without using a ton of resources.

Plus, online refresher courses are reusable and consistent. Unlike in-person courses, you know that all of your staff are receiving exactly the same information and the same standard of training.

And the best part of all, you can easily run an online refresher course right on your company's WordPress site.

With a WordPress website, you have near-instant access to easy-to-implement, and affordable solutions that let you create courses that are only accessible to your team.

MemberMouse is an example of one such solution. MemberMouse combines the granular access settings of a membership plugin with all the course-building functionality of a learning management system (LMS) plugin. 

The Courses for MemberMouse add-on, freely available on all MemberMouse plans, is designed to create and manage courses online. You can build courses, run automations, manage and track employee progress, and even create a custom login page for your employees. 

Let’s see how you can set up refresher training for your employees in 4 easy steps. 

Step 1: Download and Install MemberMouse

Choose an appropriate MemberMouse plan for your company. All plans include access to Courses for MemberMouse, while the Plus plan includes added features with quizzes and certifications.

Then follow the steps in the doc below to download and install MemberMouse. 👇

Step 2: Add a Membership Level for Your Employees

MemberMouse allows you to easily restrict access to content on your website. You probably don't want the whole world accessing internal training courses, so this is a great way to ensure only your employees have the key.

Read our documentation on how to create and manage membership levels in MemberMouse. As you'll see, it's quite straightforward. 👇

Step 3: Install the Courses for MemberMouse Add-on

This step is what transforms MemberMouse into an LMS plugin! From your WordPress dashboard simply go to MemberMouse > Courses and click on the Install & Activate button.

Step 4: Create Your First Course!

With Courses for MemberMouse the process of creating a training course is intuitive.

With the click of a button, MemberMouse automatically creates a courses page. From inside the editor you can add content, modules, lessons, and quizzes.

You can also easily edit the order of lessons and quizzes with a drag and drop builder!

All of the information can be found in our Courses for MemberMouse guide. 👇

Here are some things to consider:

Create a Compelling Course Description

Your Course Page is where your employees will be able to familiarize themselves with course content and understand how the course can help them in their role.

Some employees might feel reluctant to take a refresher course, believing they are only covering old ground. So this is your opportunity to sell the reason why this course will be beneficial to them.

MemberMouse is a breeze for anyone already familiar with WordPress. Easily add dynamic content to your refresher course such as videos, widgets, and more with the Gutenberg Blocks editor.

Plan your Curriculum Thoughtfully

Think through how you would like to break down your training course into modules and lessons. Plan to make each lesson easily digestible.

Generally, it's better to spread content across multiple lessons than try to cram it all into one. This will help your staff feel like they're progressing and encourage them to continue.

In MemberMouse, courses can be divided into “sections” which work like modules.

Then you can click add lessons to each module and edit modules by clicking on the icon show below.

Step 5: Add Interactive Elements to Your Refresher Course 

MemberMouse Plus and Pro customers can set up quizzes to a) help employees self-assess and review areas for improvement and b) ensure they are actually learning from the courses.

Read our article for tips and best practices to make the most of quizzes in your refresher course. 👇

Step 6: Reward Course Completion with Certificates

Certificates give your employees proof of course completion and a sense of achievement for having completed the course. You can select from three certificate templates, upload your logo or “seal of approval” and customize the colors and instructor's signature.

TOP TIP: If you need your employees to regularly take courses, e.g. once a year, you can update the seal or the color of the certificate to reflect the year of completion.

Read our guide to adding certificates to your courses. 👇

Step 7: Protect Course Content

Before you hit Publish on your course, your last step is to ensure that your training course is only visible to your employees!

Remember that membership level you set up in step 2? Well now it's time to set your access rights so that only people in that membership level can access your course!

MemberMouse makes setting access rights for each individual course a breeze. That will come in handy if you one day decide to sell memberships and courses to you customers!

Create a Refresher Training Course Before It's Too Late!

In today's fast-paced and competitive market, keeping your employees' skills up to date is important. Refresher training is essential to keep your team skilled and confident about their jobs. 

A little reminder and support can make all the difference when it comes to using new tools or following new rules. That's where MemberMouse comes in. It makes setting up a refresher course on your WordPress site easy and effective. You can create engaging, dynamic courses that increase compliance and productivity with just a few easy steps. These courses will also encourage people to keep learning.

We hope you found this blog helpful and are ready to start creating your refresher course. Don’t forget to reach out to us in the comments if you have any questions or suggestions. 

Follow us on  Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn for more expert advice and tips to maximize your online course’s potential.

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