Who is internal training more important for? Is it your new staff? Or is it your existing staff?
Of all the assets a business has, our staff are arguably the biggest, so we need to first bring them up to speed and then nurture and appreciate them, thereby increasing their value. Training new starters is something that every good employer factors into their plans. It’s obvious isn’t it? After all, who wants to spend a fortune on advertising and recruiting and then have a new team member sitting at a desk without a clue what they’re supposed to be doing?
But what about existing team members? They’ve been with you for ages, know their jobs inside out and are performing well so we don’t need to worry about them do we? Unfortunately, this is a big mistake that is often made and the consequences can be severe. There are so many reasons for having a continuing internal training programme for all staff. Even if your teams know their jobs, as time goes by things change. It’s a fact. People, processes, software, legislation, equipment, roles and responsibilities are just a few we could mention. And we have to keep up with these changes otherwise lots of thing suffer; compliance, knowledge, understanding, process flows and many more. All of these could have a big impact on our business.
If we just focus on training our new starters to bring them up to speed, then we definitely appreciate our new assets. But our existing assets start to slowly depreciate. Not only do the above things suffer, but so do motivation, attitude and ultimately, loyalty and performance.
So if we want to nurture, retain and appreciate all our assets, we need to give them the tools they need to maintain their skills and develop in their roles or progress up the ladder to new ones. People need to grow and feel fulfilled and they can either do that with us, or move on and do it somewhere else.
Just a few ways to include internal training for your staff are:
- Map all your processes and put together a programme of training modules which can be used for new starters. Include regular reviews and tests to check retention. As they progress through their probation period you have a solid basis for assessment of progress as well as just observation. Make sure you have every role covered. That way, knowledge won’t disappear out the door if someone critical leaves your company and you will be able to quickly bring someone else up to speed to take over
- Review all your training modules on a regular basis to ensure they are still correct and update them whenever there is a change of process or system. Not only will this keep the content current and relevant, but it will give you a solid basis for understanding exactly what’s involved in learning your business from scratch
- Run monthly “masterclasses” in certain aspects of your systems or processes. Allow staff to sign up for the sessions that interest them and maintain their skillsets. Make them short and interesting so that staff want to come along
- Make internal training a part of your appraisal process and actively ask your teams if they feel they have the knowledge and skills they need to do their job
- Make sure you have a route of progression; a way for people to come in the door at the bottom but at least have a chance to working their way up towards the top over time. If people can’t see a future with you they will almost certainly go elsewhere to find it.
Don’t forget formal CPD – make sure your staff have the opportunities they need to keep up to date and get their CPD points
If you show your staff that you value them and want them to progress, then they will normally be motivated to progress. Recruitment for new staff costs a fortune so why not appreciate and retain existing assets and not have to bring in so many new ones to replace leavers.
Watch out for the next article in this series – Is DIY Training a good investment?
Tracey Bendel