Formal Training Programs are Vital for Business Success- Lisa Askwith

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Introduction
We are continuing to journey towards your success through Engaging Your People. I am looking forward to getting to know you and helping you achieve the goals that you have for your business.  We have a great mix of Global businesses, small and large that listen in every week and add to our vibrant community. However it's worth noting that small businesses employ 57% of the planet's population and their needs are often overshadowed by the needs of Big Business in most countries or economies. So if you are finding your business in this situation, please reach out to us at IBGR.  We are here to help improve your ability to succeed by focusing on you and your business.

You can always reach out at our version of a Chamber of Commerce. Join Up and gain access to our Hosts and access our library of best practices.

Have a great business week.
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Show Objectives
Today’s show is about Formal Training Programs for Job Demands, Career development, and Organisational Development, and why they are so vital to get right. Without them you lose many key people benefits in your business, and miss out on really achieving the success that you should. This is an often overlooked key piece of your people management toolkit, and should not be forgotten as the benefits it brings are huge.

Every business has some type of training need from onboarding, specific technical competencies, management, leadership, marketing, sales, communication etc.. Investments in talent development help to improve job satisfaction and retention by providing a path for personal and career development.  At the same time having open, inclusive and supported training programs will help to improve the culture in your business, as they lead to staff feeling valued and recognised, which in turn spreads to their work ethic and motivation. To really capitalize on this in your business, you then need to take things to the next level, and also provide training programs around organisational development. When this occurs you have the opportunity to fully engage your people and really increase the potential of the success of your business.

As your company continues to grow or become even more efficient the need for formal training programs will increase. On the most basic level training programs help to equip your team with the tools that they need to succeed and provide a foundation for future leaders and managers within your organization. 

However, I want your business to be the best that it can be, so to enable this we need to look deeper and capitalise on the entire people spectrum. Training programs should also be selected to help improve your culture and retain your staff. They should be more than enforced learning. In fact, only the technical job aspects should even be thought of this way. Your programs should branch out to also include organisational, humanistic and leadership based learning and development. When this happens they then tailor into the career development pathways that you have provided, and capture many more of your people. This leads to increased knowledge and expertise in YOUR business, and also improved morale, as your people feel valued and needed. Not overlooked. Allowing them to access non core training shows you are serious about their development and supporting their career goals.

This leads to an obvious uplift of skills for any business, but more importantly it starts to also improve your culture, nudging you towards the employer of choice space, rather than just another employer, or job. This is the best use of Formal training Programs, and how they can increase your staff retention and improve your culture, leading to great business success through fully engaging your people.

To remain competitive in this you must continue to invest in your people, not just your business.

To call in today and ask a question, please use

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What You Need to Know
Effective training programs are crafted considering the  values of the organization and the actual needs of your employees.  Training for the sake of training will not move you closer to your goals.  Training for the sake of training is like random physical exercise which may be beneficial but not as effective as a well thought out training regime. You need to capitalise by signaling to your employees that you value them and are willing to invest in their development. 

​Obviously workplace training is an effective way for organizations to increase productivity as well-trained employees can be more skilled in their jobs and less likely to make mistakes, resulting in greater efficiency and effectiveness. However, more importantly well trained employees are happier, understand, and can complete their work, and feel valued, and this leads directly to an improved culture. Great cultures can make a business, and take it to the next level of success.
 

Key Issues:

Owner/Manager Perspective

1. How do I determine my company’s training needs?
2. What are the intended outcomes of the training program?  Are there some specific gaps that were revealed during the training needs assessment process?
3. Make sure that your employee development needs are considered. 
4. What feedback have employees given on any knowledge or skills gaps?
5. How are you going to track your training?
6. Training needs should be incorporated into the employee evaluation and performance review process as well.
7. It is important to develop a learning culture within your company.
8. Look at a career development from several viewpoints – technical, organizational, and individual. 
9. Develop people technically first - job role of management is developing skill mastery, but do not forget to include the development of soft skills into your training program.
10. Continue to develop their business skills to make competence complete.

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Key Issues - Employee Perspective:

1. Continue to gain skills for my current position and prepare for the next position.
2. Proactively look for opportunities to attend training that enhance technical and if needed soft skills.
3. Show your employer that you value your training by putting your newly learned or enhanced skills into practice.

 
What You Need to Do 
You need to have a strong focus on discovering just what your business and your people need, and then design programs or provide ones that support that. For your business to be the best it can be, these programs need to move beyond only covering today's technical skills, and provide more than soft skills. You need to look to the future and find training programs that meet your organisational development needs as well. When you do this, you not only future proof your business, but you also fully engage your people as you are giving them the opportunity to grow and succeed. This then all works together to give you the best possible outcomes.

1. Review your existing training programs and processes that you already have in-place.  You must know your starting point.
2. Assess your organizational training needs.
   1. Are there key areas within your organization where you see a clear need for training?
   2. Are their market or technology changes that are driving the training needs?
   3. Is training needed as part of succession or growth planning? Or Developing a “deeper bench.”
3. Assess your employee training needs.
   1. Engage your employees for suggestions on any gaps in technical knowledge or skills that they may be aware of.  Be sure to communicate that you are in the process of developing a formal training program and you want their input.
   2. Do your employees need to further develop their “soft” skills? 
   3. Get feedback from your leadership team on areas of need.
4. Develop your training program based on the needs of the organization and the employees.
5. Determine how best way for the training to be delivered (Group, Individual, remote or in-person.)
6. Clearly define the purpose and goals of the training program and individual training sessions.
7. How will success be measured organizationally as a whole, within each department, and on the individual contributor level.
8. Include training in part of the performance evaluation and promotion process. 
9. Coach your employees and managers on developing training plans for their teams and themselves.
10. Make sure your management team is on board with the training program as they will reinforce the everyday importance of training with their team members. 
11. Develop a learning culture within your organization, adn focus on organization development training opportunities.

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Written by Lisa Askwith

Director of ApexBRS | ApexBRS, Regional Director of See Global Media, Chair of  EGN Singapore, and Associate Professor Cambridge Corporate University | At the Age of Change, Global Executive MBA and BBA.

You can connect with Lisa on any of her platforms

LinkedIn Lisa Askwith - Director - Apex BRS
https://www.apexbrs.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ApexBRS
https://tockify.com/ibgrnetwork/pinboard?search=lisa&startms=1602216000000

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