A lot of planning goes into those first few months of a new business; setting up corporate bank accounts, finding an office building, hiring new employees. With all of the things to get done, implementing an employee training program that consists of more than a brief orientation is not often included on that lengthy list of things to do. The easiest time to start this type of program is at the beginning; however, if you didn’t feel you had enough employees or simply were not aware of these programs at the time, it’s not too late to start one now.
To implement a successful employee training program, there are two things to remember — the program needs to be a priority and it needs to become routine. Employee training programs are important for getting new employees into the loop of how the company operates and what the company’s expectations are as well as keeping established employees in that knowledge and communication loop. Effective programs will improve communication and understanding between individuals and departments. However, if the powers that be do not understand the importance of employee training programs for both the company and its employees, the program will never accomplish much. On the same token, if they are not on a regular, consistent basis they will eventually fall by the wayside. Depending on the size of the company, it may be beneficial to have an employee training coordinator. Their responsibilities would include scheduling and planning each of the training sessions, so that each employee receives the maximum benefit.
Employees who understand their job and what is expected of them are far more likely to enjoy their job and be more productive. With an established employee training program, companies can expect to see increases in their sales numbers as well as overall productivity.
Productivity is often defined as a measure of a quantity of output. In business terms, productivity is the amount and quality of work that an employee completes within a given period of time. It seems like a fairly simple process, right? Well, like most things related to business, it is easier said than done. Productivity relies heavily on this word motivation: incentive or stimulation toward a given goal. Without motivation, productivity is virtually non-existent. Unfortunately, many employers feel that a paycheck should be enough motivation for employees to maintain productivity; however, most of the time that is short lived. If you want to motivate your employees and increase and maintain productivity, consider starting corporate team building programs.
More than just a few corporate sponsored meetings, corporate team building programs do more to encourage employees long-term. It demonstrates to them that you are willing to invest in them and their success; which will increase motivation. It creates unity and camaraderie among individuals and departments; which will help each area work together more effectively and smoothly, also increasing productivity. Lastly, corporate team building programs renew purpose. When everyone is reminded of why they are there and what they are doing, they will go at their work with that much more motivation. When you understand what you are doing and you have a purpose, you will be that much more productive.
So the next time that someone suggests initiating a corporate team building program within your company, don’t just brush it off as another way to waste time or rely on a steady paycheck as the sole form of motivation. Instead use it as an opportunity to re-energize your employees and increase their productivity at the same time. Your employees and your business are worth the extra time and expense to reach their true potential.
Dale Carnegie Training(R), the international leader in performance-based workforce training and solutions, today announced the launch of its first-ever iPhone app (http://www.dalecarnegie.com/app/). Available for download through iTunes and already steadily rising the store’s charts, the informative new application outlines basic human relations principles and shares easy-to-follow tips, techniques and daily “confidence boosters” exclusive to Dale Carnegie Training’s world-renowned workshops and courses. Users who download the application will have access to the company’s secrets of success for only 99 cents, allowing them to keep their professional edge sharp and truly “Stop Worrying and Start Living” in both their personal and professional lives.
“Think of it as a way to have a Dale Carnegie Coach in your pocket at all times,” says Peter Handal, chairman, president and CEO of Dale Carnegie Training. “In this challenging economic time — where people need every bit of help to stand out and ensure employment — we believe there couldn’t be a more opportune moment to offer Dale Carnegie’s guiding principles in an even easier to access form.”
Employees are the support and backbone of any successful company. While those in leadership make all of the big decisions, the employees are the ones that get the labor required to get the work done. Without good employees, a company could not function properly. Unfortunately many employees forget the hard work that they did once they move into corporate or management positions. This is why employee training and employee development is essential to a successful company. When the employees become more successful, the company becomes successful.
When a new employee is hired, they are often required to attend an employee training seminar. There is often a lot of information that needs to be passed on when a new employee starts. At this seminar they learn the details of what makes the company work. They also learn what they need to do for their jobs, proper procedures and what is expected of them. Unfortunately, many companies simply leave the training at that. They don’t continue the process of employee development, which is not that different from employee training. When a company continues employee development, they continue the learning process. Employees are updated on new procedures and expectations. They continue to build on the employee’s job and leadership skills. It is also a good time to pass on any new information or procedures.
Employee training and employee development are both ways to stay in good communication in that those in leadership can pass on information as well as help employees keep their skills sharp and up to date. Without communication there is confusion and misunderstanding that, left unchecked, will eventually drag a company down. When employees understand their tasks and what is expected of them and their skills are at their peak, they will be successful and productive, and eventually so will the company.
The best corporate training games will really be tailored for the company that is paying for the training. A business that makes artwork and is having a hard time with communication and exact reproduction may start off a training with an exercise directed at these aspects. The directions should be very simple, such as “Take this white paper and close your eyes. For the rest of the next exercise you can not ask any questions or open your eyes.” The task should on the other hand also get the point across. In this exercise you then lead them through a series of ripping off corners, turning the paper, and even folding the paper a few times. When everyone opens their eyes, everyone has a different looking paper. The point is to show that without looking at other people’s work, and not asking questions the same piece of artwork will turn out differently from the last one.
There are other games that are more traditional that can be used in corporate trainings. These can include games like the human knot in which everyone reaches in and grabs someone’s hand. Everyone then has to untangle the group without letting go of anyone’s hand. This usually ends up at some point with someone about to break their arm trying to let someone else around them. There is also the game where you have to say two truths and a lie and everyone else has to guess what the lie is. These can be great, but usually don’t serve much purpose in the training and don’t serve to show a point to the employees.
The time when these traditional games work best is when introducing people. Something that people are familiar with leads people to feel greater comfort and will open up better. Games that fall into this category usually include games where people have to say their name and something about themselves. This is a common type of game and is used at the beginning of most meetings of large numbers of people who have never met before or who are exploring a sensitive topic for the first time.
It can be hard to develop strong leaders in the workplace. While it may feel like skipping leadership development programs and just giving the position to the best performing person in the department is the easy solution, this is rarely the best idea. Here are a few things that will help as you design your own leadership development program.
The first thing you will want to remember as you develop your program is to get the highest executives involved in the program. With them involved you can guarantee some of the other advice will happen, as well as making sure that the program will be highly regarded by those interested in moving up the ladder. As you start, consult with the highest management to determine what values should be upheld in these trainings. The first value you need to define and decide on is “What is leadership competency?” This is tricky, and there are many values involved in this, but a leadership development program that has these clearly defined will produce better leadership than one that hasn’t.
The next set of values that should be explored comes from making sure that the program is in alignment with the business strategy. This is one of those things that the top management can ensure. Leadership is more than managing employees and as a person moves up the ladder they are less likely to be directing a small group of people and instead to be directing people on how to direct their people. Make sure that the upcoming leadership is trained in business specific skills.
Make sure when you are done developing the plan that it is not just a teacher and student scenario. This training should not take a weekend, but should be part of everyday practice. Participants should be assigned developmental assignments, external education, and as it heads up the ladder it should also include meetings with international counterparts and full assessments of abilities. This makes both your program and your management stronger.
Writing a Professional Development Plan can help keep you focused on your goals and give you something to work on in order to move forward. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time if you know what you are doing and what you want to do.
The first step you will want to take is to take a self evaluation. Focus not on goals or weaknesses, but rather on strengths. Think about what you are good at. It will be easier for you to do things you love than to try to perform well in activities you have no interest in and aren’t very good at. You aren’t expected to be good at everything, so acknowledging that you have weaknesses is a good thing to do at this point, just remember that it isn’t the focus of this exercise.
Decide on something that you want to learn, such as a new skill, or even a whole new job. Do some research on what it would take to learn this. Professional development can only happen with furthering education. Look at material such as trade magazines, job descriptions and career guides. If you are trying to move up the corporate ladder, look into what other people in your company have had to do to move up the ladder. Next, identify the schools, seminars, mentors, blogs, books, and conventions that can give you what you need.
Finally you can start to write out plans and goals. Try to write out a list of goals you would like to meet in the next five years and how you are going to reach them. This is your long term goals list, and should be kept somewhere safe that you can get back to easily. You will want to reevaluate this regularly. Next write out a list of goals and how you will reach them for the next year. Make sure at least one of these things helps you reach one or more of the goals on your other list. Finally write up a list of goals and how you will reach them for this next month. This should get you closer to one of your goals for the year. All of these should be reevaluated and revised on a regular basis as your goals change.
The goal of any business‚ whether they are big or small, privately or corporately owned‚ is to be successful. They want to be competitive in their markets and become well established. Many people are misled when they think that the key to that success comes solely from having a large budget and spending lots of money on advertising. While those things are important and they have their place in the businesses success, the real key is effective communication. That may seem simple but it is not. The unfortunate fact is that too many businesses underestimate the importance of good communication and it leads to their demise.
Effective communication comes in many different ways, some expensive and some not so much. On the most basic level good communication can come through a good e-mail system. Being able to share information quickly and easily is important to good communication and to business. On that same token, sending out frequent newsletters or memos helps keep everyone informed. If there are going to be big changes within the company the best way to share that information is all at once, that way there is no information left out and everyone receives the same information. If it is a smaller company this can be accomplished through a meeting. If it is a larger company they can incorporate it into a business training seminar.
The amount of money that is spent on ensuring that the communication lines remain open depends largely on the size of the company. A smaller company with fewer employees could spend a relatively small amount on communication since the information probably doesn’t have as far to travel. On the other hand, a larger company is going to have to spend more time and money making sure that everyone is on the same page and communicating openly. They will spend thousands of dollars or more each year holding meetings and sending information back and forth through various means. However, the dollar amount is not the important part, it is building and maintaining an effective communication system that will ensure the company is successful.
When companies face hard times the first thing that is reviewed is the budget to see where things can be adjusted, reallocated and cut. At the first signs of serious trouble, expenses and benefits are trimmed back. If the situation continues to worsen it can lead to further cut backs and potentially layoffs or pay cuts. While no one likes to see their benefits cut or people loose their jobs, there are sometimes unpleasant actions that must be taken if the business is going to survive.
The key to the success and survival of any business is communication. Communication can occur in a variety of different ways ‚ e-mail, newsletters, meetings‚ but the one that is most often left out or cut is corporate training. Corporate training serves a variety of purposes. It helps those in leadership stay connected and informed about the current status of the company. This will help them make the best decisions for the good of the employees and the company. It allows an open environment for people to brainstorm and share ideas that could be beneficial to the health of the company. With everyone thinking together and bouncing ideas off of one another there is a greater likelihood that a company-saving solution will be reached. Although those at the corporate level typically retain their jobs longer than most other employees, there is still some turnover. Corporate training helps those in decision-making roles identify new potential leaders.
Corporate training plays a vital role in the health of many different areas within the company. Without it the communication system within many companies would cease to exist. Rather than cut it because times are tough, utilize it. Make the most of each training session and it will help your company grow stronger and more successful in the future.
