On-the-Job Training (OJT) is a hands-on method of learning where employees gain practical skills by performing their actual job tasks under the guidance of experienced colleagues or supervisors. Unlike classroom-based training, OJT occurs in the workplace, allowing employees to learn in a real-world environment.
This method helps workers adapt quickly to specific organisational procedures.
However, its effectiveness depends not only on the quality of supervision and the employee's active engagement but also on having a well-organized system to track progress. Without proper tracking, it can be difficult to measure the employee's growth or identify areas needing improvement.
It’s not just about training. It's also about setting employees up for success in real-world tasks.
Other important things to mention are that it sets clear expectations for your employees, increases their productivity, and promotes flexibility at work.
Make your employees happier by making them better! 🧠
In the following article, we will guide you on how to use it and give you some recommendations so that you are well-prepared to begin using it.
How does it Work?
With Learningbank’s OJT module, anyone with permission to the content creator, can easily create OJT modules and insert them into a learning path. When an employee reaches the OJT module, the next step in their learning path will remain locked until their manager verifies that they’ve fulfilled the criteria.
The manager plays an active role by reviewing the employee’s performance on the OJT tasks.
Only after the manager approves the module the employee can continue on their learning path.
This ensures that skills are not just learned but demonstrated and verified before moving forward.
As you can see in the image below, when an employee encounters an OJT module, the training responsible, for example the Manager, must act before the employee can continue their learning journey.
How to Create OJT module in Your Platform
To create an OJT module:
In the sidebar menu select Learning
From there, go from Learning to Modules
Then click on + Create
Select 'On-the-Job Training (OJT)' from the options.
Now, you can create your OJT training module. Remember that using this module type responsible manager, trainer, or admin must complete this module for the employee to move on
Supervision Required for Module Completion
As mentioned earlier, even though the module is assigned to the user, the content is designed for the manager, supervisor, or admin to see and click the complete button.
This means the user cannot proceed without supervision from someone with the necessary permissions, typically from the same or a parent department. We encourage managers to use only My Team access, which allows them to supervise and manage users without needing admin access, keeping their focus on the team without navigating the admin side of the platform. Managers don’t need to navigate the admin side unless they have specific tasks beyond My Team.
When the user clicks the module, a pop-up will guide them to reach out to the responsible person.
Depending on how you've set up your permissions - either in the admin overview or as part of My Team, the responsible person will see that they have one or more OJT module(s) that they need to pay attention to.
Upon clicking on this button, they will see some data on both the module and user and a "play" button. By pressing here, the module will appear, and the responsible person can complete the module.
Admin overview
My team
After completion, the module will disappear from the admin overview, and the user can proceed with their journey.
Adjust Permissions
To be able to act as the responsible, a user needs to have access to the Management permission with a checkmark in the 'Facilitate On-the-Job training (OJT)' box.
Manager Permission:
This setup provides managers with the necessary access to supervise and approve OJT modules without giving them full admin access.
This is our recommended setup to keep managers focused on their teams.
Manager + Admin Permission:
In cases where a manager also needs admin-level access for other responsibilities, you can enable both Manager and Admin Permissions. However, we recommend limiting admin access unless it's absolutely necessary
Once access is adjusted in permissions, those assigned this permission can approve modules for either:
Users in their Department Hierarchy, Department, and Sub-Departments.
Users that are connected to the approver by Direct Management.
Read more on permission types here.
The setup of the function mainly focuses on tasks that need to be done face to face to ensure that the employees are ready to do their tasks correctly in real life; it is important that you communicate clearly to the responsible user the what, how, and why the module should be completed.
Good to know🧠
This means that the person responsible could have a Manager, Administrative worker, or similar role - they simply need permission.
Recommendations
You might be thinking, "So, in which situations am I meant to be using this?" There are many use cases for it, but to give you the best insights, we have provided you with two different scenarios where it would benefit your employees and the one responsible for completing the training.
Quick tip💡
Kill two birds with one stone. In some scenarios, you can gather a group of employees who need to complete the same training under the supervision of a responsible person so that they complete it at the same time.
Both cases are based on mandatory training that is best practiced physically at the workplace and/or with the probs that give the user a more hands-on experience.
1. Safety training 🦺
If your employees work in environments that require thorough training to ensure that they or their colleagues do not get hurt and how to act if an accident should occur. You want them to be prepared to the best of their abilities.
You can, therefore, approve of their abilities in certain situations by watching them complete the necessary safety tasks.
When all the safety tasks are completed in person, the responsible will complete the training and approve that the user knows how to execute.
2. Hygiene training 🧽
A very important subject for employees working in food or healthcare is that their hygiene follows very strict rules so that customers or patients do not get sick.
In this case, it could also be beneficial to bring in OJT to ensure that they wash their hands, clean their utensils, etc., according to the standards.