What are four characteristics of an effective training program that allow employees to learn best?

To have Continuous Learning and Development is key for
creating a sustainable and competitive enterprise. Corporations budget and spend
millions a year to train their employees to build competencies to gain s competitive
advantage in the market.  Generally, companies mix different modes of training like
Synchronous (more commonly known as classroom training) and Asynchronous (digital or
electronic training).  An effective training program will carefully design each training
ingredient (content, learning outcomes, instructional methods, and delivery media) to
achieve optimal results.  An effective training program usually combines hard and soft
skills development.  But regardless the modes of training, training design should be
done as a structured learning environment with the goal in mind of improving workplace
performance in ways that are aligned with bottom-line business goals. There are actually
FIVE characteristics to
consider:

Training must be
Structured to be effective. An effective training environment
is designed to optimize learning both during and after the training event - all the way
to the workplace.  A structured process and a structured product will minimize
inconsistency in learning environments and will align instructional material to
job-essential knowledge and
skills.

Have an effective training
environment. Learning in the workplace is moving from the
traditional series of isolated training events to environments that incorporate diverse
knowledge resources such as repositories of examples, performance templates, and access
to expertise, along with traditional events in face-to-face and virtual media.  This
kind of environment produces a body of knowledge that is flexible and responsive to
changes in both the trainee as well as the workplace
environment.

Training must be
Engineered to be effective. Effective learning environments do
not happen by accident.  An effective learning environment must be the product of a
structured process and proven instructional methods matched to your
content.

Workplace
Performance. An effective training program begins with the job
and ends with the job.  It must include guidelines, examples, and exercises that are
job-relevant and ensures a stable outcome of performance when the training is applied in
the workplace.

Business Goals.
An effective training program focuses on knowledge and
skills.  These must be aligned to core organizational objectives.  For instance, in
conducting training for communication skills, an effective learning design defines
specific behaviors associated with the types of communications needed to support
organizational objectives.