“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”
– Sir Richard Branson
Did you know that we offer training services for your employees? We do this for a simple reason. Untrained employees can be very costly whether it is excessive overhead or loss of clients. We want to see your business succeed and one of the ways to success is training your employees to succeed. Before you write us off and say that you onboard employees with company processes and provide them with the tools to do their job, let’s look at a couple of ways that employees left to their own devices will, in time, cost you more.
- They may adopt an individualistic mindset by figuring things out alone and create their own process. Taking initiative is not a bad thing, but it can create division when employees are not working together. Each employee’s way becomes the right way. This can occur in sales, programming, and project management to name a few. Silo productivity is very costly. Ongoing training helps prevent project delays, customer frustration, and finger pointing within the company.
- They weaken the company’s brand. Brand goes beyond the written mission statement. Brand is image as well from the correct email signature to social etiquette. When employees do not know how to present themselves as a representative of their company’s brand at events or meetings, they may say the wrong thing or offend without knowing. This can result in a loss of sponsorship, client contract, or reputation. Ongoing training equips employees with the knowledge and etiquette necessary to be an admirable representative of the company.
- They become unsatisfied with their job. They are not sure if they are doing things correctly. Sometimes they are not sure what they are supposed to be doing outside of procedural responsibilities. This causes employees to leave. Employee turnover is more expensive because it involves the time of several people in the exit of an employee and finding a replacement. Ongoing training gives employees confidence, purpose and opportunity which leads to retention.
- Discontent goes beyond the walls of your organization. Although employees may not say anything to customers or vendors, attitude and posture is saying it. It creates reservation and concern in your customers and vendors. If employees do not like their employer, customers and vendors began to question the integrity of the company and its products. Ongoing training shows others that employees matter, and they see it when the employee takes pride in their position and the product they are selling.
Now, let’s look at the benefits of training. It is true that training takes an investment, but proper investment in your employees will make your company more successful.
- Software Training – You may use Office 365 or Google Business for your company. Maybe you use the Adobe Creative Suite in your marketing department or a CRM for salespeople and business developers. Whichever the case, we find that most organizations only use a percentage of their software’s features. The problem is, not everyone uses the same percentage. Software training helps your employees be more productive, because they are using the software the same way collectively. We find that companies who invest in training after major version releases, cutdown on frustrations and continue to increase productivity.
- Project Management – As your company grows, you may grow your project management team throughout the year. As you bring in new project managers, especially seasoned and skilled ones, they will bring their own processes and mindsets. Group training offers the opportunity for project managers to understand the expectations and processes of your company, but also to help them find a fit for their successfully proven skills and experiences. Project management training is not to conform project managers, but to help them work together in a way that increases productivity and profit.
- Brand and Social Etiquette – We hear executives tell their employees to “just use common sense”. Common sense is good but does not always look the same in every situation. Companies that invest in their employees teach them what the mission statement looks like on a practical level. Employees learn what common sense means at a fundraiser, company gathering, or a pitch to a prospective client. Companies who do not make assumptions that employees know how to be a brand representative, value training in brand and social etiquette.
Training is invaluable. As Richard Branson says in the opening quote, “employees come first.” When you put your employees first, customers, vendors, industrial leaders, and investors know they can trust you. They see the value you put on people, starting with employees and that goes a long way.
If you are considering employee training, contact us for a free consultation. We would love to help you map out the most effective training for your company.
