8 Great Staff Training Ideas to Motivate Your Team

Some companies let employees work from their home offices, but with Peerspace, anyone can work from somewhere exciting and new. An art gallery, lounge, mansion, studio, or warehouse could be your office for the day. Plus, you can host any corporate meeting, training, or event in the venues available. Just input your event type, budget range, and any amenities you may need, and browse your local area for venues that can accommodate your employees and the activities you have planned. Training is a necessary part of work, but it doesn’t have to be dull. Make training something your team can look forward to with these staff training ideas.

These ideas are especially crucial as businesses of all kinds operate in a post-COVID-19 world. Some of these ideas are classics, while others take into consideration that a lot about your business has likely changed in recent years. And because of these changes, how we welcome new team members (and even how we retrain current ones) is different. We’ll discuss it all ahead!

1. Bring in a guest speaker 

Instead of relying only on internal employees to lead the training, consider booking guest speakers who are experts in the areas in which you want your team to improve. They can tailor a presentation just for your company and provide fresh ideas and insight into the topic at hand.

Find speakers through the National Speakers Bureau; research past TED Talk speakers or check if any thought leaders or authors in your industry on LinkedIn are available to hire for speaking engagements. A special guest will help keep your staff engaged and interested throughout the training. If you choose to invite one, you may want to take extra care when selecting a caterer for lunch. This way, you can welcome the speaker and make them comfortable at your office.

2. Take the training outside of the office

A simple staff training idea that can switch things up instantly is hosting the course in an entirely new space. You can book a local event venues, such as an art gallery, cafe, loft, lounge, or creative space, on Peerspace. Just make sure to confirm that the space has enough tables, seating, and outlets, and good internet access. There are even catering options if you contact the Concierge service, so you won’t have to worry about getting back to the office in time for lunch.

3. Let the staff lead

Instead of talking at your employees throughout the entire training, invite them into the conversation and allow them to help with the curriculum. Some team members may be experts in areas that others need to learn, so assign them topics in their area of expertise, then ask them to give training presentations that follow a few guidelines that you have set. It’s important to include a variety of voices and perspectives in the office, and switching up the presenters will help keep everyone more engaged.

4. Show videos made by current staff

If you’re training new hires, instead of showing generic training videos, consider having current staff create fun tutorials. These can be super-simple skits recorded on smartphones or even live demonstrations acted out for everyone to watch. Creating instructional videos in-house can be a fun way for the team to learn and bond, and the videos can be shared to your company’s social media afterwards. They can also be reused year after year, so it is definitely a worthwhile use of time.

5. Gamify the training

Incentivize your team members with a gamified training session. You can build awards into your existing learning management system or create your own from scratch. Consider including “levels” employees can unlock, developing a tiered point system, and giving out paper certificates that people can pin up in their cubicles. If you have the budget for it, include actual prizes that have value as well, like coffee shop gift cards, lottery tickets, coffee mugs, or boxed treats like chocolates.

6. Roleplay scenarios for training

This hands-on learning exercise is great for those who learn by doing. Ask more seasoned employees to help act out scenarios involved in the work that you do so that new hires can practice going through the motions. This exercise is especially useful for employees in sales roles or anyone else in a customer-facing position. Start by having older employees go first to give new employees an example to follow, then answer any clarifying questions before asking newbies to take a turn acting out the roleplay scenarios.

7. Throw in some ice breakers and fun

Instead of jumping straight into the training agenda, start out the training with some ice breakers like two truths and a lie (this is an especially good game to play when you have a bunch of new employees) or the one-word game, where employees go around the table and share how they are feeling with one word that doesn’t necessarily have to be a word that describes an emotion. Ice breakers can help get the conversation flowing, allowing new or quieter employees to easily warm up to everyone. For more ice-breaker ideas, check out this blog.

Also, consider picking out a game that is relevant to the training topic and play a few rounds before or after the training. For example, if your work involves a lot of thinking on your feet, play a game like charades. Reward winners with prizes like lottery tickets, gift cards to nearby eateries, desserts, or special staff T-shirts. This will break up the monotony of the workday and leave everyone with renewed energy to take on the tasks ahead.

8. Make it a “lunch and learn”

Getting food involved in the training is a simple way to keep everyone’s energy up. You can order catering, invite food trucks to your office complex, or host the training in an actual restaurant. For a morning training session, consider setting up a coffee bar or booking a cafe with a barista service via Peerspace. Food always makes everyone happier to partake in work events. Send out a survey before the training to see which type of cuisine your staff would prefer and, as always, take note of any food allergies or dietary restrictions.

Bonus idea: be flexible

No matter how many new hires you may be training, it’s crucial to your business and all your employees to stay flexible in this ever-changing world. Just as you manage other aspects of your business, you may need to tweak how you train employees from time to time. You don’t have to have everything set in stone; let the times dictate how your training sessions roll out and update them using as much technology as is reasonable. Check out how a few tech companies are dealing with employee and client relationships these days and see how their ideas may suit your company, too.

These staff training ideas cater to all learning styles and environments. But to get everyone motivated and to start off on the right foot, consider booking a Peerspace venue. You’ll find spacious, private spaces in cities across the country, with all of the amenities and features you want. Next time you need to brush up on some skills or teach your team something new, consider incorporating one or more of them into your next training session.

Find unique staff training ideas on Peerspace