Why invest in training for your workplace? It’s a fact that business owners and managers who invest regularly in training for themselves and their employees have a far better survival rate and in this current economic climate we need all the help we can get. Why is it then that so many don't take the need for training seriously? When investing in our business we always need to see a Return On Investment (ROI) and in a training context this is a difficult thing to measure. Mostly, all we can do is use ‘best guess’ methods without resorting to costly research and analysis. Fortunately this has already been done for us and the results are quite impressive (calculate your own ROI using an ROI calculator). Research indicates that a 30% increase in productivity can be expected when staff are properly trained. This is dependent on a few factors such as the specific need for training, the effectiveness of the training and how the training outcomes are applied to the workplace. Here’s an article that may shed a little light. Many small business owners will argue, “If I train my staff they will just go and work for my competition.” Zig Zigler once said "The only thing worse than training people and having them leave is not training them and having them stay." Statistically one of the biggest reasons for staff leaving is ‘employee disengagement’ or job dissatisfaction (this is a whole other chapter). This can be due to employers not providing the resources their staff need to do their job properly, and yes, this does include training. Staff can become frustrated and disillusioned as they fumble towards deadlines, make mistakes or take customer complaints to heart, all because they are not fully equipped to do their job properly. One of the best and most cost effective areas where training can make big productivity improvements is in ‘foundation skills’. These are the basic skills employees need, to enable them to integrate into the workplace and develop into productive team members. Computing is just one area where many employees struggle, not only in adapting to the ever-changing technology, but in many cases, just to be able to understand it in the first place. Working out where to spend your ‘training dollars’ most effectively can be difficult for the business owner. In the training business we call this ‘skills gap analysis’. The first step in this analysis is to benchmark the desired performance against a set of criteria. Secondly, using this same criteria, measure actual performance. Thirdly, analyse the difference between the two. This is the 'skill gap'. Lastly, decide what measures are needed to reduce this gap. This may include allocation or reallocation of resources, changes to staffing, new policies or procedures, staff training or a mix of all of these. This is a process that needs to be constantly measured but once you have your benchmarks in place, the task becomes easier. Also, keep in mind that for the small business, this needs to be scaled down to a managable level for your business framework. Email me about ROI or 'skills gap analysis. Nigel
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