in2vate, llc
Sell Your Staff on the Importance of Training
Training is important to the development of your staff and your organization’s continued success. However, training sessions are frequently met with boredom or skepticism by employees who see them as a waste of time. The trick to changing their minds—and getting more from training—lies in these suggestions:
- Get input from the trainees. Before you plan a training session, find out what employees think of the proposed training. What do they think they can get out of it? What would they like to accomplish?
- Explain how the training will help them do their job better. Make sure they see how the training will let them become more effective, and how it will benefit them personally and professionally.
- Emphasize that training is meant to improve skills. Sometimes employees interpret training as a message that they’re not good at something. Acknowledge what people already do well, and shift the focus to what they can do even better.
- Be an active participant. Don’t just observe. Take part in training. This way, you reaffirm the message that everyone can benefit from the training.
Money Alone Doesn’t Cut It
What keeps employees working for your organization? Although competitive pay is essential, money alone isn’t what retains people, even in the current economic downturn. Other top motivators are:
- Professional development. Give people the opportunity to learn new skills. It’s the No. 1 factor in keeping employees from jumping ship.
- Coaching and feedback. Managers tend to think that the top performers don’t need help. However, they often benefit from feedback and guidance most. If they aren’t receiving feedback, they’ll likely believe that the company doesn’t care about their career.
- Good bosses. You can offer every incentive under the sun, but the fact is people don’t leave jobs, they leave bosses.
Five Tips for Being a Better Boss
Every manager wants to get better at his or her job. But how can you do it? Here are some guidelines:
Adapt to each person you oversee. View employees as individuals. Get to know their strengths and weaknesses and deal with them accordingly.
Don’t be a know-it-all. Acknowledge your own humanness. Turn to employees for advice on how you can be a better supervisor to them.
Learn to let go. Don’t micromanage. Trust employees to do their jobs. Cultivate their growth by giving them a little more than they think they’re capable of doing.
Stay available. Keep your door open and let employees know they can come to you at any time to discuss any issue that affects them positively or negatively.
Work for employees’ goals. That means first knowing what an employee’s goals are. Then, serve as a mentor, and strive to do what you can to advance a person’s professional goals.
