Employee training is a vital part in any business. It’s more than just for the new employees. That common misconception can be detrimental to business performance in the long and short term. Employee training is an important part of doing great business for every employee. Ongoing training is a way to keep your employees constantly motivated. Motivation is the key goal of employee training. It is to insure that they understand the inner workings of the business. Training helps your employees to understand the mission statement for your company and hopefully make them feel a need to embody it in their own work.

Goal setting is an important part of employee training. If employees can feel like they get to take part in goal setting for the company, they might just set their own goals with the company in mind.    Sales training  for example can make your employees more efficient and effective as well, more efficient employees will lead to better financial gains for the company.

Training may also lead to the employees being more independent, so there will be less need for supervision.  Ongoing employee training can also significantly reduce employee turnover. Happy employees don’t want to leave! Employee training, for example, for new technology can also result in employees bonding over a common goal. Plus fostering a sense of camaraderie within the company is never a bad idea. If employees feel like they are part of the process in a business, they are more inclined to want to play a more productive role in that process.

Effective employee training results in a more knowledgeable staff. A more knowledgeable staff will make it easier for a company to compete as a single entity. If everyone in your company is up to date with the latest trends within the industry, the better off the company will be.

Dale Carnegie Training is offering a Free 2 Hour event this October titled Global Re-Engagement Day

With every line item on budgets being closely evaluated, team building may seem like a lavish expense that companies can do without. However, dysfunctional teams should also be recognized as a cost of business that companies need to remove from their accrued daily costs. When changes and restructuring occur, especially in unstable times, companies cannot afford to forget about the teams that will forge ahead despite the numerous challenges before them.

During any economic downturn, getting things done and attaining results is of the utmost importance. Business success that goes above and beyond expectations is seldom accomplished by one person. Teams are forged for the specific purpose of achieving goals that are bigger than any individual could take on alone. However, the strain caused by these difficult economic conditions may hinder progress and make it difficult for teams to function efficiently.  Cuts in budget and employment may require people to work together in ways they haven’t before, and the formation of new teams is a prominent reality. Fear is an influential factor that drives employees to focus their attention on protecting their individual job security, rather than working to benefit the team, the company or its customers.  Left unattended, these conditions can create non-productive, inefficient teams.

Creating cohesive, productive teams takes more than contrived team building activities – it requires strong leaders within the company who can motivate the individual employees to create an effective team. The foundation of such a team is a clear vision that unites the group. Establishing trust, accountability and open communication empower each person to contribute their best to the team’s cumulative efforts. On any team, every person is responsible for its success. Taking time to train the individuals using team building to grow the group’s ability to work well together saves companies money over time and lays the groundwork for both short-term and long-term success.

Dear Carnegie Coach:

My company has recently been trying to improve the image of our brand with our customers. We have put a lot of effort into our marketing but we have seen limited results and or feedback. At this time I think we need to consider bringing in an outside company to help us concentrate our marketing efforts. In the past all of our efforts have been internal so I am not sure the best way to develop a relationship with someone outside of my organization. What is the best way for me to go about utilizing an external company for a partnership?

Greg

Dear Greg:

Like any relationship, successfully external partnerships evolve over a period of time. As time goes by you will experience higher levels of trust and accomplishment with your new partner. Part of managing these external partnerships will involve how successfully you can guide from one level down to the next. Here are the steps involved in developing a successful external partnership.

1. Formation – During this process you will need to assess the required experience and knowledge of your would be external partner. In this stage everyone involved in the partnership gets to know each other and learn how they can work together as a team.

2. Planning – This is a collective process with your new partner to bring everyone’s expertise into the design of the team effort. During this step, the goal is for all team members involved to grow in terms of their respect and understanding of each other.

3. Cohesion – As the partnership evolves beyond the initial stages everyone’s vision becomes more unified. Relationships should be developed that include how to approach and engage one another.

4. Achievement – As successes accumulate, partners will feel that the synergy of their talents and effort it paying off. You must acknowledge and reward the success of your partners and they will in turn take pride in their joint accomplishments and have a greater sense of the importance of the endeavor.

5. Actualization – The partnership is now functioning at its greatest level of efficiency and collaboration. You must make sure that all lines of communication between you and your partners remain open in order to maintain your level of success.

Do you find yourself in a high stress/management position, spending most days bogged down with piles of paperwork? You could feel out of touch with your coworkers and colleagues. Sometimes there is not enough time in the day to connect face to face with the people you work with, causing morale to suffer. If this is the case, there are several effective ways to improve upon your listening skills.

1. Look at the other person- Eye contact is very important, it let’s the other person know that you are listening and have an interest in what they have to say.

2. Ask questions- By asking questions you can not only better understand what the persons saying but you are engaging them.

3. Don’t change the subject- You should not be the one leading the conversation. Listen and let the other person lead, let the person stay on the topic.

4. Express emotion with control – emotion is a form of non verbal feedback. A smile or a frown lets the person know that you understand what they are saying.

5. Action – If a question or concern is left unanswered, show that you will follow up, take action and return back with a response.