Monthly Archives: June 2014

As a business leader, you likely work hard to ensure that your company has goals, and measurements in place to see progress toward those goals. In addition, you are likely concerned with ensuring that employees are well trained. However, what many leaders miss is a simple step that can take your business to new heights. This step is tying those two important items together. Ensuring that your company training is tied to your business objectives helps equip your employees to meet the goals that make your company successful.  

There are essentially three pieces to tying company goals to training objectives. The first happens when the company goals are set. It is important that senior leadership think about the skills that employees will need in order to make it possible to meet the goals. You can expect ill equipped employees to suddenly meet new goals. This might include things like new product knowledge or improved sales or technical skills.

These required skills must then be included in a training plan. For the company to be successful, it must ensure that the employees receive the training needed to develop to the level needed to meet the new goals.

The third piece of this puzzle is the one that is often missing. It is critical to ensure that when training is delivered, employees see how their new skills match to the company’s goals. As the training is going on, trainers should refer to company goals and objectives, making sure that employees see how the new skills or knowledge they are gaining equip them to provide their personal contribution to meeting the new goals. This will not only help employees have the required skills, but will also help them to personally relate to lofty company goals. When employees at every level are “bought in” to the goals, and see that upper management is committed to providing them the tools to make them successful, morale is improved. Suddenly, all employees have the same understanding of overall company goals, rather than this understanding only existing at management levels.

The most successful companies know how to integrate the critical goals into every level of the organization and into every activity provided for employee development. Once you tie your overall goals to the training you deliver to your employees, you will see your training program become even more valuable than it is today. And, you’ll see your employees more committed to achieving your company’s most important mission.

Training is one of the most critical pieces to ensuring that new employees are properly prepared to do their jobs. It is also a critical piece of employee development, helping employees to grow in their careers, enabling them to take on more responsibility and handle greater challenges.  As important as training is, it can often fall by the wayside, particularly when times are busy or budgets are tight. However, continuing with training even during these times is important to keeping your business on track.

In some cases, completing employee training with existing personnel as trainers is the best option. However, outsourcing the training is often the best option for your business. Consider the following times when outsourcing a training program might be the bet option.

1. Time Constraints. When your business is going through a very busy time, outsourcing training to another company or individual keeps all of your employees on their regular jobs, rather than taking their time to train others. When you want to keep productivity high, it doesn’t make sense to have your own employees acting as trainers and students.
2. Budget Constraints. Though outsourcing training can seem expensive, it can be less so than hiring full time permanent employee trainers. Employees are expensive, particularly when you consider the cost of benefits. In many cases, it is cheaper in the long run to use an outside company.
3. Specialized Training. It is often more powerful to use outside trainers for specialized training. This is particularly true when you want employees trained on something that is outside your core knowledge base. Outsourced trainers are experts in the field in which they train, and they offer insight into the subject, as well as proven training techniques.
4. Impact Training. When you need training to have a powerful impact on your employees, it may be wise to use an outside trainer. When you bring in trainers who are new to your employees, they may have more credibility in the field, simply because they are not part of your organization. Many companies use, for example, professional sales trainers to come in yearly to train sales people on new techniques as well as to motivate them for success. This sort of training would not likely be as effective coming from a regular member of the organization, even if that person possessed great training skills.
   

When you are budgeting and planning for employee training, it is wise to look at a variety of scenarios in order to meet training goals and needs. Successful companies find many ways to train employees, using both in house resources and those that can be outsourced to create an effective training plan.

Using an outside partner for training can be a valuable way to increase productivity, ensure employee development and keep your organization running with optimal efficiency. However, it’s extremely important to choose the right training partner so that your money is not wasted and so that employees find the time they spend training to be worthwhile.

Of course, there are many specific things you may look for in a training agent, depending upon your business and the exact skills the trainer will be working on with your employees. However, trainers of any sort need to possess three important skills. As you evaluate your options, keep these three things in mind.

1.   Knowledge. Any good trainer is knowledgeable in his or her field. Beware of trainers who only know the material at the “50,000 foot” level, as your most seasoned employees will spot it a mile away, and the trainer will lose credibility. Your employees must believe that this person can actually teach them something, or their time is wasted.

2      Creativity. Even in grade school, we all remember liking the teachers who taught us in creative ways. If you want to keep your employees engaged in training, choose a trainer who thinks and teaches “outside the box”. Activities and exercises, even if employees balk a little at first can create the most memorable training experiences.

3.   Willingness to change. The trainer who is doing things the same way he did them five years ago is not going to bring much value to your organization. Look for trainers who are consistently honing their own skills, both in the classroom and on the job. You may have to pay a little more for a trainer who spends time being trained himself, but it’s well worth it in the long run.

Outside training can be a large budget item, especially for a small business. However, it can be one of the most valuable tools you have in keeping your employees growing and keeping your business on the cutting edge. It’s important to not always go for the cheapest option, but it is also critical to ensure you get good value for your money. By choosing to work with an experienced training agent can simplify the process and reduce the risk of outsourcing.  A qualified training agent will first thoroughly understand your needs then connect you with the Perfect Fit training solution provider.

Good employee training and development is a key to running a successful business. When employees are properly trained on key job functions and developed for more responsibility and knowledge as they grow, the organization thrives. In addition, employees thrive when they are continuously allowed to expand their horizons, making them less likely to leave you for another opportunity. Many leaders try to tackle all the training needs themselves within their own staff, but there are several benefits to using an external training agent for some of your training needs. Working with and experienced agent can help you identify needs and provide trainers that can deliver sustainable results.  There are many benefits to outsourcing training initiatives:

1. External trainers have credibility. When you are training employees on a skill that isn’t one of the job’s primary tasks, such as negotiation skills or people skills, bringing in an outside trainer can have many benefits. These people have instant credibility as experts in their field. Even if you have a few full time trainers on staff, it can be beneficial to bring in an outside trainer for some programs.
2. External trainers are creative.  Full time trainers spend their time learning new ways to develop the skills they train on. They are likely to have tricks up their sleeve that you wouldn’t think of. They are also masters at keeping the audience engaged. Their training often includes activities that bring home the important ideas in a fun and unique way.
3. External trainers can be cost effective. On the surface, using an outside trainer can seem expensive. But, when you factor in the cost of your time as well as the number of people you may be able to train quickly using a trainer, it can be well worth the up front expense.
4. External trainers free up your time. Your time is valuable and it is certain that other duties will fall by the wayside if you and your staff spend a lot of time training. Using an external trainer can help you keep business “as usual” going on, which drives sales and revenue generation for your business.
   

A good trainer can be one of your business’ most valuable assets. There are many different areas of training in which you can find agents with specialized credentials to help you make the most of your employees’ talent. Take the time to develop a good relationship with a trainer or trainers who can help you keep employee development moving forward without your business activities taking a back seat.