Employee training is not something that most small business owners give much thought to. They think of employee training as something that large corporations need to ensure their employees are equipped with the company policies and procedures required to perform their jobs. Most new employees in small business go through on-the-job training, if at all. After all, who has time to spend on training employees when there are so many tasks waiting to be completed, right? Besides, as a small business you don’t want to spend extra money on employee training.
Why Training
This belief is misplaced. Every type and size of business can benefit by training their employees. In some cases it is even more important for small business owners to ensure their employees get periodic training to enhance their skills and learn new developments in their industry and market. As you know small business owners do not have the luxury of having employees dedicated to performing one task. In most cases, employees of small business need to be cross-trained in multiple job functions.
Training new employees, even if it is for a day, ensures that they will learn about your company and do’s and don’ts before jumping in the fire and possibly making mistakes. Training can benefit existing employees too. With rapid advancement of technology it is essential that your employees are trained properly to take advantage of them. These days majority of employees are expected to have basic computer knowledge such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Employees can improve their job performance and future prospects when they take an Excel training course. Training existing employees in new skills and technology is less expensive and time consuming option compared to hiring new employees. This has an added benefit of keeping current employees satisfied and stopping them from leaving your company because they are getting bored with their current daily routine.
Training Effectiveness
For training to be effective you have to ensure that employees are provided sufficient time to go through the training. In many cases, this may be a challenge when you are trying to run your business with few employees. You should look for time when business is slow. Also, look for ways to divide the entire training in smaller pieces so that the employees are not away for extended duration at any given time. It is also important that you give training as much priority as regular work, so that employees can dedicate their time and attention to training without being interrupted constantly.
Types of Training
Employees should be trained not only for the skills required to perform their jobs in the company, but also to learn new skills. Training to perform current skills better will help you improve productivity and customer satisfaction. While learning of new skills is required for your business to stay competitive and introduce new products in the market.
You also have several options when it comes to how training is provided. While classroom training can be very effective in certain situations, it is not the only option available today. With the advancement of technology number of new options are available that you can take advantage of. They range from DVDs, software, online and even using video games where you can learn while having fun.
In many instances hiring an outside trainer is effective for classroom training. There are number of companies who specialize in different training skills. Many of them will even customize training program for you. One of the ways you can reduce the cost of training is by using Train The trainer approach where you can train several key employees with the help of external training firm and use those employees to further train rest of the employees. If you have specific needs it may be worth your time to speak with a professional training or consulting agency for occasional or specific needs.
