Employee Training: The Secret to a Successful Business
An Insight by Natalie Cutler, Associate Consultant
We've heard it time and time again, but have you tried it yourself?
Are you skeptical about training your employees or wondering if you'll get the return on your investment?
As an HR professional I am guilty of taking it for granted that a business is more likely to grow, develop and prosper when people are engaged and well-trained. But it may not be the first thing you would consider when so many business owners and managers are simply trying to survive and juggle everyday responsibilities.
So, how do owners find a balance and the sweet spot of success?
I believe that trust is the key. Placing the success or failure of your business in the hands of someone else is a leap of faith and can challenge the most trusting of people.
As a business owner you are juggling so many priorities that you need to delegate, outsource and rely on others, otherwise things get dropped, rushed or forgotten; all of which could make the difference between success or failure.
Here are the 3 key factors to consider for your training and development strategy if your aim is to grow a successful business:
Recruit to Build
The first step in any successful business strategy is undoubtedly recruitment. Your recruits must not just only have the required skills but must fit in with your vision, values and your work ethic.
Most things can be taught in the workplace, so focus on the personality and the fit rather than the skills and experience. Once they are in position, you can work on developing a successful working relationship and aligning their skills and experience to the needs of your business.
Develop a Learning Culture Throughout
Your managers need to represent your business ethos so that it filters down to all people in your organisation. In return, your people, whatever their position in the business, will be best placed to provide you with feedback to help you grow and develop, so it is essential that your managers serve as a two-way conduit. This is where your learning and development strategy comes into play to help your people work symbiotically.
“No company, small or large can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it”
Consider Performance Orientated Learning
The 70-20-10 model, developed by McCall, Lombardo and Eichinger, is well known by almost all HR professionals. Its basic premise is that you should ensure that your learning culture should be closely linked with both the primary goals and aims of your business but also the overall culture that you are trying to develop.
This doesn’t mean that you need to send all of your people on course after course. But you should consider asking them, individually, to define what inspires and motivates them at work.
More often than not, challenges to their learning or succeeding in goals will often appear. It is at this point that you could also consider Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and incorporate these into your strategy:
Physiological needs - the basics to survive, we work to pay the bills
Safety needs - job security
Love and belonging - friendship, camaraderie, connection through common goals
Esteem - pride in what we do and achieve
Self-actualization – be all that I can be
All of these needs can be achieved in your workplace, through learning and development. Set challenging goals and objectives, and put the structures in place to provide the support needed to achieve them.
The “best” outcomes from learning aren’t always achieved by sending your people away to take part in a training course, but instead when you align the needs of your business with the opportunities and feedback presented by your people. This is where learning academies, that work with, and in, your business, can help.
Remember: Learning requirements should always be based on the success of your business.
Speak to us at The Business Learning Academy about aligning your business needs with the opportunities and feedback presented by your people.
Key Takeaways: What Your Learning Strategy Should Include To Grow Your Business
Write clear job descriptions so that you know what people are looking to achieve
Implement reviews and performance management (as informal as possible) to ensure that people receive regular, positive feedback
Train and develop managers so that they can conduct regular effective reviews with your people to ensure that they are performing and provide assistance when needed.
Develop a framework that works within the organisation structure to provide a career development path.
Strive for a culture where mistakes are regarded as learning opportunities.
Encourage employee participation; the more successful your business gets, the further away you can be from the “coal-face” - our people should be expected to offer feedback.
Celebrate success.
Seek regular feedback.
Through this strategy you should be able to:
Delegate work so that job juggling is not so frenetic
Retain the best talent
Become the employer of choice amongst your competitors in order to recruit the best
Develop your people to allow for effective succession planning
This will give you a dynamic and energised team that works to a common goal and a common hunger to achieve all that they can, and hopefully a successful business.
“Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your business”
For more Information on the Business Learning Academy or to find out how we can help you develop a bespoke learning and development strategy focused on making your business a success
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