Training is crucial to the success of your business and it is crucial to your employee engagement growth plan.
Almost every company I have worked with has some sort of training program in place. These range from safety training to how-to-do-the-job training. Some companies use computer based training and then have the employee “shadow” a senior employee. Other companies have the employee learn while they work.
I am not going to tell you which training method is best or how to train an employee – I am going to tell you that your employees want more training than you are giving them.
Have you ever read a book and then later read it again? Did you notice something the second time through that made you wonder how you missed it the first time? Well, training is a lot like that and organizations that have a well-executed ongoing training system in place usually have the best results.
When someone is trained the first time they are usually a bit nervous and are trying to “take it all in” so they tend to miss things or misunderstand priorities. I always suggest constant training.
A leader should always be training, if not in a formal setting, by example.
I’m sure you have heard the saying, “Success is when preparedness meets opportunity.” Training is preparing your employees for opportunity.
Some smaller companies could benefit from cross-trained employees; meaning they have been trained to perform in multiple positions. I read comments daily from employees that request cross-training. For me this is a “no brainer.”
If you have an employee that is requesting additional training and responsibility, they are engaged…do not shoot them down!
Giving employees additional training and helping them understand the operation more can only be a win-win situation. They learn more and you create an employee that can work in multiple positions when needed.
If you feel like you are training enough, train some more. Training instills confidence and confidence, in turn, creates positive customer experiences.
In your daily life, outside of your company, have you ever dealt with a “new” or under-trained employee? Of course you have, we all have. The lack of confidence creates a very poor experience for the customer. Now think about what it does to the employee, who is trying hard to do their best, but is “lost” and doesn’t know what to do.
It’s important to realize that your employees want to learn and grow. Giving them the opportunity to do so gives them a feeling of importance, makes them happy and creates engagement.