Mike Clark's Business Bites: Training creates an inspiring culture of continuous development

Training will help your staff learn to think for themselves and to learn how to learn. Photo / Freepik

OPINION:

A business can only grow to the level of its people. If you are growing as a business and/or have the potential to grow there is a high chance you need to attract and retain staff.

Attraction and retention of staff is a current hot topic due to how many companies need both unskilled and skilled labour. What growth aspirations does your business have? Do you need people and/or additional skills?

In business, it is easier to promote from within as people know your culture, systems, processes and products. Promoting from within gives people hope and shows there is a future with your business - a career path. This is consistently reported as being a huge factor in retention.

When was the last time you promoted from within? Do your team members have career paths and the potential to grow within your business?

In searching for labour in this tight market the more skills someone has the higher the wages you are likely to pay. This shortage of skills has resulted in a number of organisations "poaching" talent. This, in turn, is often raised as one of the objections against training. "What if I train them and they leave?"

The more pertinent question of course is "what if you don't train them and they stay?". I have always admired Richard Branson's approach of "train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don't want to".

Training and people development is one element of a healthy culture. Done well it has multiple benefits. Well trained people allow promotion from within, meaning recruiting can be for entry-level positions that are easier to fill. It also keeps your employees motivated. New skills and knowledge can help to reduce boredom.

Seeing the growth of those around you, and having the opportunity to grow, creates an inspiring culture of continuous development. People learn to think for themselves and to learn how to learn and apply their learning.

Teams increase business productivity and profitability by bringing new thoughts, ideas and possibilities from their training. This in turn often improves employee performance in quality, quantity, speed, safety, problem-solving, attitude, ethics, motivation, leadership, and communication.

One of the most common unseen benefits is the reduction in pressure on management as employees do not have to ask so many questions so interrupt less.

When you see the value in each person in your team and you show it by choosing to invest in them you set a standard and expectation of how clients and peers should be treated.

When people are valued for who they are and what they bring it creates an open culture where people willingly share information rather than holding information in the hope of becoming irreplaceable.

Do you need to review your training programme?

• Mike Clark is director and lead trainer and facilitator at Think Right business training company.