Sometimes, training goals cannot be met through on‐the‐job training; the employer needs to look to other resources. Off‐the‐job training can rely on outside consultants, local college faculty, or in‐house personnel. The more popular off‐the‐job training methods are classroom lectures, videos, and simulation exercises. Thanks to new technologies, employers can now facilitate some training, such as tutorials, on the employees' own computers, reducing the overall costs.
Regardless of the method selected, effective training should be individualized. Some people absorb information better when they read about it, others learn best by observation, and still others learn better when they hear the information. These different learning styles are not mutually exclusive. When training is designed around the preferred learning style of an employee, the benefits of training are maximized because employees are able to retain more of what they learn.
In addition to training, employers should offer development plans, which include a series of steps that can help employees acquire skills to reach long‐term goals, such as a job promotion. Training, on the other hand, is immediate and specific to a current job.