Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Training Is Key to Business Success

Well-trained employees are the key to your small business success. Studies have shown that the most successful, productive employees are those who have received extensive training. They’re the cream of the crop, often having the strongest stake in the company’s future.




In an ideal world, you would be able to hire people who already possess the exact skills your business needs. But in today’s competitive labor market, demand for skilled workers far exceeds supply.



That’s where training comes in. Not only does instruction arm your employees with needed professional or technical skills, but it also shows that you are invested in them and interested in bringing them with you into the company’s future. This helps keep workers motivated and involved.



To successfully launch an employee training program in your own company, follow these 10 helpful tips:



1.Stress training as investment. The reason training is often considered optional at many companies is because it is thought of as an expense rather than an investment. While it’s true that training can be costly up front, it's a long-term investment in the growth and development of your human resources.

2.Determine your needs. As you probably don’t have unlimited time or funds to execute an employee training program, you should decide early on what the focus of your training program should be. Determine what skills are most pertinent to address current or future company needs or ones that will provide the biggest payback. Ask yourself, “How will this training eventually prove beneficial to the company?” Repeat this process as your business needs change.

3.Promote a culture of learning. In today’s fast-paced economy, if a business isn’t learning, it’s going to fall behind. A business learns as its people learn. Communicate your expectations that all employees should take the necessary steps to hone their skills and stay on top of their professions or fields of work. Make sure you support those efforts by providing the resources needed to accomplish this goal.

4.Get management on board. Once you have developed a prioritized list of training topics that address key needs within your company, you need to convince management to rally behind the initiative.

5.Start out small. Before rolling out your training program to the masses, rehearse with a small group of users and gather their feedback. This sort of informal benchmarking exposes weaknesses in your training plans and helps you fine-tune the training process.

6.Choose quality instructors and materials. Who you select to conduct the training will make a major difference in the success of your efforts, whether it’s a professional educator or simply a knowledgeable staff member. Having the right training materials is also important — after the training is over, these materials become valuable resources for trainees.

7.Find the right space. Select a training location that’s conducive to learning. Choose an environment that’s quiet and roomy enough to spread out materials. Make sure the space is equipped with a computer and projector, so you can present a visually stimulating training session.

8.Clarify connections. Some employees may feel that the training they're receiving isn't relevant to their job. It’s important to help them understand the connection early on, so they don’t view the training sessions as a waste of valuable time. Employees should see the training as an important addition to their professional portfolios. Award people with completion certificates at the end of the program.

9.Make it ongoing. Don’t limit training solely to new employees. Organized, ongoing training programs will maintain all employees’ skill levels, and continually motivate them to grow and improve professionally.

10.Measure results. Without measurable results, it’s almost impossible to view training as anything but an expense. Decide how you’re going to obtain an acceptable rate of return on your investment. Determine what kind of growth or other measure is a reasonable result of the training you provide. You’ll have an easier time budgeting funds for future training if you can demonstrate concrete results.
 
© Dun & Bradstreet, Inc., 2000-2009. All rights reserved

Employee Training Now Rather Than Later

Typical Reasons for Employee Training and Development


Training and development can be initiated for a variety of reasons for an employee or group of employees, e.g.,:
When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed

To "benchmark" the status of improvement so far in a performance improvement effort


As part of an overall professional development program

As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a planned change in role in the organization


To "pilot", or test, the operation of a new performance management system



To train about a specific topic (see below)

Typical Topics of Employee Training

Communications: The increasing diversity of today's workforce brings a wide variety of languages and customs.



Computer skills: Computer skills are becoming a necessity for conducting administrative and office tasks.



Customer service: Increased competition in today's global marketplace makes it critical that employees understand and meet the needs of customers.



Diversity: Diversity training usually includes explanation about how people have different perspectives and views, and includes techniques to value diversity



Ethics: Today's society has increasing expectations about corporate social responsibility. Also, today's diverse workforce brings a wide variety of values and morals to the workplace.



Human relations: The increased stresses of today's workplace can include misunderstandings and conflict. Training can people to get along in the workplace.



Quality initiatives: Initiatives such as Total Quality Management, Quality Circles, benchmarking, etc., require basic training about quality concepts, guidelines and standards for quality, etc.



Safety: Safety training is critical where working with heavy equipment , hazardous chemicals, repetitive activities, etc., but can also be useful with practical advice for avoiding assaults, etc.



Sexual harassment: Sexual harassment training usually includes careful description of the organization's policies about sexual harassment, especially about what are inappropriate behaviors.



General Benefits from Employee Training and Development

There are numerous sources of online information about training and development. Several of these sites (they're listed later on in this library) suggest reasons for supervisors to conduct training among employees. These reasons include:



Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees



Increased employee motivation



Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain



Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods



Increased innovation in strategies and products



Reduced employee turnover



Enhanced company image, e.g., conducting ethics training (not a good reason for ethics training!)



Risk management, e.g., training about sexual harassment, diversity training

Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright 1997-2008.

Types of Staff Training -- Employee Training & Development

Types of Staff Training -- Employee Training & Development

Monday, December 21, 2009

Avatar,Must See

                   Went to go see the movie last night.  It was great.  It was a story about military and science together trying to reach a goal.  The military was trying to get a rock that was very valuable and would do anything to get it. The science team is at the same time exploring/researching all the land and people of Pandora.  While the people of Pandora are very close to their land and connected spiritally, do not want the aliens (military/scientists) there.  So the military tries to the mother load which is sitting under their most sacred tree.  To not spoil the movie military and scientist do not see eye to eye. They end up fighting. 
                    The director puts the delimas we currently face in the movie, so we can relate.  Great plot, battle between science and military, love story and the future of the human race all tied in to one good movie.  I like it, my wife and kids loved it.   You should see it.   Oh, and there will be a sequel.  Cool
.   :)