Step Up to Staff Training – A Simple 4-Step Model
Step Up to Staff Training – A Simple 4-Step Model
probably a million other things seemingly more important that demand your
attention – budgets, schedules, the bottom line.
The reality is that the importance of staff training is paramount. Staff training means
much more than simply training your staff. It is about providing better experiences
for your clients and customers, but it is also about providing a workplace that is
creative and motivating.
How do you feel when your organization makes you feel important? You probably
feel valued, and want to show your appreciation by working harder or going the
extra mile. The same goes for your staff. The more they feel their organization is
investing in them, the more willing they are to take it to the next level.
Training staff also helps spread the knowledge around. It’s like the old adage about
wearing fresh underwear in case a bus hits you. What happens if a bus hits the only
person in your organization that knows how to do payroll, and it’s the 15th of the
month? How will your employees get paid? If four people know how to perform a
function compared to just one person, the odds are four times greater that a more
efficient, faster or simply better method can be found. Ultimately, this creates an
environment that fosters creativity and learning.
Finally, it is important for the people in charge of performing the training to be “in
the loop” about the latest techniques, data and trends. This ensures your trainers
keep up to date, and pass it along to other staff members, thus ensuring your
organization isn’t falling behind the competition.
Step 1
Once you decide your employees need training you must first set goals. This step is
essential to any form of success, but it is especially relevant when beginning staff
training. It is imperative that you ask your staff what they want to achieve and learn.
You must also determine what you want the training to accomplish and how you will
evaluate the results.
While asking your employees what they want to accomplish, ask them how they
learn the best. It’s probable that a percentage of your employees excel in group
learning environments, while some prefer mentoring from senior employees and
others prefer one-on-one training. Make sure that whoever is providing the training
does so in a group setting that is interactive but also allows for private discussion
and learning. And remember, peer-to-peer learning builds trust and develops bonds
between employees.
Step 2
The next step is to identify who will provide the training. If you are hiring a
company, ask colleagues for recommendations. If that doesn’t work, find an
individual or company and ask them for references.
Step 3
Now you must finish identifying the 5 W’s. You should have already determined who
will provide the training and what it will cover. Now decide where and when it will
take place and how it will be done (Will all your employees be trained at once, or will
you split them into groups? Will it be a seminar or a workshop?).
Step 4
Finally, you must evaluate the training. Yes, you must evaluate how the learning was
transferred to your employees, but it is essential that you also ask them for their
opinions. Do this through a survey that allows anonymity, but also in a group setting
that allows discussion. And, make sure you keep all the evaluations and reviews for
future use.
By following these steps, you can ensure that your training will be focused,
effective and what your employees feel they need – not just what you feel
they need. This will lead to better moral, higher work ethic, better experiences for
your clients and customers and ultimately more success for your organization.
Step Up to Staff Training A Simple 4Step Model - To learn more about this author, visit Janet Dean's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
It’s easy to overlook staff training, probably even forgivable. After all, there are
probably a million other things seemingly more important that demand your
attention – budgets, schedules, the bottom line.
The reality is that the importance of staff training is paramount. Staff training means
much more than simply training your staff. It is about providing better experiences
for your clients and customers, but it is also about providing a workplace that is
creative and motivating.
How do you feel when your organization makes you feel important? You probably
feel valued, and want to show your appreciation by working harder or going the
extra mile. The same goes for your staff. The more they feel their organization is
investing in them, the more willing they are to take it to the next level.
Training staff also helps spread the knowledge around. It’s like the old adage about
wearing fresh underwear in case a bus hits you. What happens if a bus hits the only
person in your organization that knows how to do payroll, and it’s the 15th of the
month? How will your employees get paid? If four people know how to perform a
function compared to just one person, the odds are four times greater that a more
efficient, faster or simply better method can be found. Ultimately, this creates an
environment that fosters creativity and learning.
Finally, it is important for the people in charge of performing the training to be “in
the loop” about the latest techniques, data and trends. This ensures your trainers
keep up to date, and pass it along to other staff members, thus ensuring your
organization isn’t falling behind the competition.
Step 1
Once you decide your employees need training you must first set goals. This step is
essential to any form of success, but it is especially relevant when beginning staff
training. It is imperative that you ask your staff what they want to achieve and learn.
You must also determine what you want the training to accomplish and how you will
evaluate the results.
While asking your employees what they want to accomplish, ask them how they
learn the best. It’s probable that a percentage of your employees excel in group
learning environments, while some prefer mentoring from senior employees and
others prefer one-on-one training. Make sure that whoever is providing the training
does so in a group setting that is interactive but also allows for private discussion
and learning. And remember, peer-to-peer learning builds trust and develops bonds
between employees.
Step 2
The next step is to identify who will provide the training. If you are hiring a
company, ask colleagues for recommendations. If that doesn’t work, find an
individual or company and ask them for references.
Step 3
Now you must finish identifying the 5 W’s. You should have already determined who
will provide the training and what it will cover. Now decide where and when it will
take place and how it will be done (Will all your employees be trained at once, or will
you split them into groups? Will it be a seminar or a workshop?).
Step 4
Finally, you must evaluate the training. Yes, you must evaluate how the learning was
transferred to your employees, but it is essential that you also ask them for their
opinions. Do this through a survey that allows anonymity, but also in a group setting
that allows discussion. And, make sure you keep all the evaluations and reviews for
future use.
By following these steps, you can ensure that your training will be focused,
effective and what your employees feel they need – not just what you feel
they need. This will lead to better moral, higher work ethic, better experiences for
your clients and customers and ultimately more success for your organization.
Step Up to Staff Training A Simple 4Step Model - To learn more about this author, visit Janet Dean's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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