Not every employee has the same duties, works with the same systems or faces the same challenges during their working day. So why should they all follow exactly the same training plan?
Role based training allows organisations to take a more structured approach to employee development by identifying the learning needed for different positions rather than treating the workforce as one group. This can include essential training for everyone, alongside additional learning linked to specific roles, levels of responsibility or future career development.
The challenge is finding the right balance. Training needs to provide a consistent foundation without overlooking the different skills, knowledge and practical requirements that come with individual roles. This article explores how businesses can create that balance and build training plans that develop employees at different stages of their careers.
What is role based training?
Role based training is an approach to employee development where learning is assigned according to an individual's job role.
Rather than treating training as a single programme for the entire workforce, organisations can group employees according to their roles and create learning pathways that reflect the work they carry out.
A chef, receptionist, team leader and general manager, for example, may all work for the same organisation but have very different day-to-day duties. They may share some essential training while requiring additional learning that relates specifically to their own work.
The aim is not to create a completely unique programme for every employee, but to find the right balance between shared organisational knowledge and role-specific development.
What training should everyone receive?
Most organisations will have core training that every employee needs to complete. This might include company policies, general health and safety, data protection, equality and inclusion, emergency procedures or other mandatory requirements.
Having a common foundation can help establish consistent expectations and ensure employees understand the standards that apply throughout the business.
From there, additional learning can be tailored to specific groups.
For example:
All employees: Core policies, workplace safety and organisational expectations
Customer facing employees: Customer service, communication and handling complaints
Supervisors: Leadership, delegation, feedback and performance management
Operational teams: Procedures, equipment and task-specific requirements
Managers: People management, reviews, objectives and broader operational duties
These categories provide a starting point for mapping training requirements across different areas of the organisation, while allowing more specific learning to be added where needed.
The benefits of role specific training
When training is aligned with the needs of different roles, organisations can take a more focused approach to employee development.
More relevant learning
Employees can see a clearer connection between what they are learning and the work they are expected to carry out. Training can therefore be selected according to the knowledge and skills needed for a particular position.
Less unnecessary training
Not every employee needs to complete every course. Separating organisation-wide requirements from role-specific learning can help prevent employees from being assigned training that ha little relevance to their position.
Clearer development and progression
Training requirements can provide a clearer framework for development conversations and career progression. As employees move into new positions, additional learning can be introduced to reflect the requirements of their new role.
Role based employee training should extend beyond courses
A person's development is not limited to completing online courses.
Depending on the role, training may include practical tasks, checklists, assessments, reviews, company documents, demonstrations or other activities that help employees apply what they have learned.
For example, someone might first complete a course explaining a workplace procedure and then demonstrate that procedure in practice. A manager might combine leadership learning with regular performance reviews and development objectives.
This is particularly relevant for roles where employees need to demonstrate that they can perform a task correctly rather than simply confirm that they have completed a piece of learning.
Training requirements can change throughout an employee's career
An employee's learning needs are unlikely to remain static. As people gain experience or move into new positions, their role can change and their training requirements may need to change with it.
A team member who progresses into a supervisory role, for example, may now need training in:
- Managing and supporting colleagues
- Conducting effective one to ones
- Giving constructive feedback
- Delegating tasks
- Managing performance
- Handling difficult conversations
- Supporting employee development
This means training requirements may need to be reviewed when someone moves into a new position, rather than treating their original training plan as fixed.
How to create an effective training plan by role
You don't need to create a completely separate programme for every employee. A more manageable approach is to identify groups of employees with similar learning requirements.
Start by mapping the main roles within the organisation and consider five areas:
1. Essential knowledge
What does everyone in this role need to understand before they can carry out their work?
2. Role-specific requirements
Which knowledge and skills are unique to this position or department?
3. Practical activities
Are there tasks employees need to demonstrate, practise or complete?
4. Development needs
What additional learning could help an employee become more effective in their current role?
5. Progression opportunities
What knowledge or skills will employees need if they move into a more senior or specialised position?
Once these requirements have been identified, they can be grouped into clear learning pathways for different roles or employee groups.
Training plans should also be reviewed periodically. Roles can evolve, processes may be updated and new development requirements can emerge over time.
How technology can support employee training by role
A Learning Management System (LMS) can help businesses organise learning according to factors such as job role, department, location or career stage. When evaluating a system, it is worth considering whether it can support different types of learning, provide clear visibility of progress and make it straightforward to update training requirements when roles change.
Bringing courses, practical activities, documents, reviews and development pathways together can also give organisations a central place to manage different elements of employee learning.
For businesses with multiple departments or locations, this can provide a more suitable alternative to managing various training requirements through spreadsheets and separate systems.
How Expert LMS supports role based learning
Once an organisation has identified what different employees need to learn, the next step is creating a learning experience that guides people through it.
Expert LMS enables businesses to organise training around factors including job role, department and location. Our Career Paths functionality can then bring courses, performance reviews, checklists and documents together into a structured learning journey.
Businesses can also create their own courses using the Expert LMS course building tools, allowing them to develop engaging, interactive training around their own processes, procedures and role specific requirements. This makes it easier to create learning that is relevant to the people completing it, rather than relying solely on generic training content.
Career Paths can be assigned to roles or individual learners, helping employees work through their training in a clear and manageable order. Instead of being presented with a long list of courses to complete, learners can see what they need to focus on at each stage and how their learning fits into their wider development.
The process can also be automated. New courses can be unlocked as learners reach milestones, while performance reviews can automatically open at the appropriate stage of the journey.
For managers and administrators, reports provide visibility of where learners are within their paths, allowing them to track completion and monitor progress across the organisation.
Build training around the work people actually do
The purpose of role based training is not to create more learning for employees to complete. It is to make the learning they receive relevant to their work.
By combining organisation wide requirements with learning designed for specific roles, businesses can create training plans that reflect where employees are in their careers and what they need to develop next.
Ready to move away from a one size fits all approach? See how Expert LMS makes it easy to create and manage job specific learning across your organisation from one central platform with a free trial.
