Employee training is an art not yet perfected. The days of sitting in a classroom and getting lectured about the company product/s are over. Technology is revolutionizing the way companies are able to train employees and channel partners. Videos, documents, webpages, photos and other training material can be accessed through the cloud to enable a smoother training process. Not only is the cloud a place for managers to train, but they also have the ability to set standards for their employees and partners.

Self-Service

Nowadays, we are growing up as more independent individuals than ever before and there has been a shift towards self-service in all aspects of life. Grocery store self-checkout suppliers predict growth of 84% over the next 5 years. Powerful banks such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase and USAA now allow you to deposit a check just by taking a photo on your smartphone. Employee training has also entered this era. The cloud provides a platform in which employees and resellers can learn on their own and at a pace they feel comfortable with. They don't have to show up at a certain time and follow a designated path. These people know better than anyone else what they need more training on. With all of this information up in the cloud, they can spend more time on what is important to their own unique learning needs. As an extension of this shift to self-service, the cloud is a training mechanism that provides an individualized experience.

Anywhere, Anytime

Employees and resellers may travel, work from home, work at a different location or be meeting with a client. Wherever they may be, it's important that they are always prepared. The ability to access material anywhere and at anytime is becoming a necessity. With use of the cloud, employees and partners are able to pull up information at the touch of their fingertips and from any device. The cloud stores their valuable resources so that whenever there is a question, it can be answered on the spot. We're all busy and the cloud enables us to keep our flexibility.

Highly Secure

Most businesses need the utmost privacy for their training files. There could be confidential information, passwords, unreleased press coverage and many other materials that need to be kept secure. On the managers' single machine, these files could be damaged and lost forever. In the cloud, they can't be. With better privacy settings and less infringing Terms of Service Agreements, companies using cloud software to train employees and channel partners are in good hands. The training manager will have permissions over content in the cloud so only the people that need to see material will have the ability to access it.

Expectations Made Clear

By placing training material up in the cloud, managers have the ability to track who is most engaged, thereby setting an activity threshold. If an employee or partner isn't performing up-to-speed it's easy to get to the root of the problem. The manager expects all of his/her content to be read and processed in a timely fashion. These expectations can be made clear by how often the manager cycles through material. A standard is set by the manager for how the training material should be accessed and put to use. In turn, sales should correlate.
Relaying all of the information that an employee or partner needs to know is a difficult task. Employing the use of cloud software can only make this easier. Your training will be personalized, mobile and secure. Even better, it becomes easier to set and track goals. For good reasons, cloud technology is now a leading phenomenon for company training programs.

By Laura Lilyquist, VP of Marketing at LiveHive. Source: Cloudtweaks