We live in a world where everything is continually changing: technology, communications, and even the economy are all very different than they were a year ago, let alone a decade. The skills in your workplace also need to evolve, lest they become as irrelevant as pagers. Instead of the bandage of single-event training, where you each your staff once and then let their knowledge stagnate, you need to focus on ongoing training to keep your skills and staff both relevant and equipped with the latest tools.
Your Most Important Resource
What is your single most important resource? While your clients and customers are your source of revenue, who gains those clients and customers for you? Who maintains the relationships with them and closes the sales? Who is the face of your company and the first line of defense? Answer: your employees. Keep this resource at the top of its game can be a challenge: HR problems, individual styles, and a lack of information can leave your employee below their fighting weight. Ongoing training can help solve these problems and provide a strong and consistent staff.
Updating Your Employees
A great metaphor for employees is updating the software of a computer program. When Windows tells us we’ve got to update our operating system, or if Java bugs us about a newer version, we understand these updates will not only help fix any potential security problems with the software, but also provide more options and provide a faster, cleaner, and more user-friendly experience. Same with employees.
Learning Deterioration
One problem with training in general is unused skills. When an employee does a skill on a regular basis, they will retain the training for that skill. But when skills don’t come up until a crisis, or are used rarely, the training and procedures needed to perform that skill are forgotten. Standards can lapse and lead to problems both inside and outside the company. Ongoing training not only helps update your policies and procedures, but also helps employees with any weak points in their skill portfolio.
Employee Retention
As we mentioned before, we live in a world different than it used to be. Younger employees, especially those of the millennial generation, have grown up in a time where there is no such thing as a single job for life. Many are willing to leave a company if they believe the company to be static, without challenges, or no room for advancement. Ongoing training helps to keep your business dynamic, and helps your workers grow and improve, instead of stagnating and ruminating.
Ongoing training can do a lot of things for your company, beyond the simple perks of keeping everyone up-to-date on their skillsets. If you want to foster this learning environment in your company and help your employees grow and succeed at your business, please contact Salesfish. We’re a fully licensed Sandler Training Center, and have the skills you need to make sure you succeed as a company and as an employer.
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