‘We don’t have the time’. ‘We haven’t budgeted for it this year, maybe next year’. ‘We don’t have the budget. ‘Our staff don’t need it ‘. ‘We have other things to invest in. ‘It’s not important right now. ‘Maybe next month? ‘
Sound familiar?
It seems we always have the perfect excuse lined up to push staff training and professional/personal development activities to the bottom of the priority list.
Newsflash business owners, training and development is essential for growth in both your business and personal life. Research shows that 86% of workers regard training and professional development as an investment in the future of their career with their current employer. In other words, the inescapable fact is that investing in your staff is an investment in the future of your business.
Employees who feel their company is invested in their careers are more likely to stay longer and work harder. In addition, providing targeted workplace training allows your staff to become more adaptable and increase their contributions. Staff training may cost your business money-wise, but the advantages will out way the expense.
3 reasons why you should invest:
1. Attract and retain the best.
Hands up if you hate hiring, training new staff and though you always wish your employees the best when they change jobs – you are gutted inside.
Everyone loves a way to improve themselves, it’s the perfect stimuli to your life’s lessons. Training is regarded as one of the best ways of improving staff engagements and showing them that they feel worthy.
Take sales, for example, it doesn’t always come easily to everyone. By providing training on effective techniques your salespeople gain new or additional insights to improve their selling skills as well as develop their self-confidence and positive attitude at work.
Needless to say, training is the perfect combination. By showing your respect and love to your employees you simultaneously create a gold mine of talent. This turn gives your business a market edge over competitors, as when they feel respected and loved, the way they treat your business and customers is with the same attitude. It is a win-win situation.
2. It translates to more and more $$ and savings for you
The most effective training plans are those that empower employees to become multiskilled and expand their knowledge throughout several areas of the business.
Well orchestrated training makes the employee feel like they are part of the company’s growth. Moreover, it provides them insight into what it takes to become a business owner. It then becomes easier for companies to promote and transition employees to other connected roles within the business. In return, employees feel empowered to expand into other roles where they are now needed and don’t mind taking on additional responsibilities as they have the self-confidence to complete tasks as required.
3. Shapes and moulds the future
Where all training is about personal growth, it also helps the business update their offerings, needs and goals that the business wants to achieve.
For example, if you know customer service is the main focus of your business then you need to be on top of the current trends of the industry, and assess if your business is in need to change for growth.
A long-term training plan will provide your employees with what the focus should be within their roles and help with consistent messaging across the business.
If you want to grow, then you need to understand that growth is in individual mechanic, that fuels the business growth. Nothing will happen if everyone isn’t working as one unit.
Also understand that training needs to be a group effort and as a business owner, you need to show your employees that you too will attend or is attending training regularly. Be humble about this, everyone needs training.
Let’s give you a scenario, meet Ernie.
Ernie runs a small restaurant in the suburbs. He has a team of 19 people, complete with 5 team leaders. Ernie gets frustrated daily with his employees. All-day long he hears from unhappy people. In one instance, it’s a customer complaining about the takeaway meal they just took home. Next, it’s an employee complaining about two of his teammates taking smoke breaks during the busiest time of the day.
Ernie catches up with his mate Tim. They went through trade school together and have stayed mates ever since. Tim also has a restaurant across the other side of the city. Tim has a crew of 40 and 8 supervisors. He always seems to be on top of his game, and tonight a tired and overwhelmed Ernie frankly asks Tim what is his secret.
Tim says “Implemented a training and development program. I haven’t looked back. In fact, I’ve put on 5 more staff. There’s a good vibe each day during toolbox talk, and everyone seems to be more engaged as they all know what’s expected of them. I rarely hear from unhappy customers, because every order is finished to the standard I expect. After all, I have also learnt how to communicate effectively and to express the standards that I prefer. It does take investment and time on your part, but in the end I have my life back”
Ernie was now all ears, “Isn’t training expensive? How much does it set you back?”
“Yeah, can’t lie to you mate, the training and development program is costly, but if I worked out how much it used to cost me in having to re-do jobs, constantly hiring new staff and downtime because of injuries, without a doubt, I’m so far in front financially. Plus, I have a life. I even go fishing without my phone ringing now. That’s gold mate!”
How do you make the most effective training investment?
Before you start investing in anything, make sure you have a plan of the type of courses you are looking for – is it customer service, communication or maybe simple time management. Then, go and find a coach that provides your course needs, look at their reviews, see the whole schedule and get to know them first before investing.
- Create an action plan – Training is best when it’s delivered in bite-sized pieces. There’s not a quick fix when dealing with people. To train staff effectively it needs to be easy to follow, and importantly they need to be able to try out their skills in a learning environment before applying it in the real world.
Places like Udemy and General Assembly are good places to start in gaining insight into the type of course you like. They are affordable and you do it in your own time and have large groups of people attending.
However, to get a better impact out of training or personal development courses you cannot beat personal interactions (like face to face) or online live training, and with smaller intermate groups.
You will need to also spend the time with your employees to help track and see what they got out of it. Add their learning to their performance reviews or even have open discussions about it in team meetings.
· 2. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – Performance reviews and setting KPIs is a great time to speak to the employee about how they are going, and where they’d like to go next. As the employer, this is the time to discuss any training that might benefit both the business and the individual. It’s a win, win for everyone concerned.
AND finally,
Put some policies and procedures in place so that the training they received is implemented into the everyday life of the business.
- Policies and Procedures – Policies and procedures are the backbone of any business. Much like the old saying, ‘Fail to plan, and you plan to fail’, every business should take the time to identify the policies and procedures that team members must comply with as they are carrying out their tasks. These can be simply a checklist of duties that need to be undertaken. Policies and procedures promote consistency. Team members are trained about what is expected of them and the work they complete.
If you don’t do any of these, then it’s likely that the training you invested in won’t benefit your company.
“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”? Aristotle,
Staff training is worth the investment
Continual training, education, and coaching for employees are essential for businesses to sustain progression.
It’s also a great time for all levels across the business to refresh, revise, review or create new skills.
Chrissy’s provides a holistic approach to training and courses and offers courses that help with taking care of yourself and your business. Attend one today to gain insights into what is needed for your personal and professional growth. Click here.