How do you equip your teams with the right skills?

You wouldn’t put someone behind a steering wheel and tell them to drive if they had never been taught how to do so, and yet many organisations expect new starters, or those new into role to hit the ground running and do the job without any training or introduction to what the remit of the role is. Why?

Well, primarily, time and money appear to be the main excuse. With the perception that providing inductions, training, one on one coaching all takes time, not just in the delivery, but also in the preparation and set up. It also requires another employee to do the upfront thinking and execute the sessions, thus taking them away from their day job. Whilst this may be accurate that it is time intensive, it is undoubtedly worth investing this time as the benefits clearly outweigh the disadvantages.

By investing time upfront with those new to a role, you can set them up for success by providing clear guidance as to the expectation of the job and what is required of them. Providing them with training and thus the skills needed for the job, will mean they are more likely to be successful in the role. For example, for an individual new to a sales role, providing just some of the basics of the steps of the sales call increases the chances of a profitable sell.

In order to ensure your employees can ‘hit the ground running’ it is important to provide the skills and know how prior to them starting their roles. Not only does this ensure success from day 1, but also motivates the employee in advance of starting. They will feel confident and equipped knowing they have been trained accordingly. The training will also provide great insight as to what to expect from the role.

As an employer, it is also advisable to provide breadth of training, not just depth. For a new starter into sales for example, providing an overview of Shopper Marketing or Category Management will aid in selling as they will understand the importance and the requirement of the disciplines and enable them to have a knowledgeable discussion with their buyers.

Training needn’t be expensive either. One of our subsidiaries Bitesize Business Academy, offers a range of Sales, Negotiation, Marketing, Category Marketing programmes and more for just £295. They are all delivered virtually and within 3 hours which means individuals aren’t taken away from the day job.

Ultimately, you need to consider the overall return on investment. By investing in your employees, you will undoubtedly reap the rewards as they will be more effective and efficient in role as well as motivated to do the role well which in turn improves employee retention.

If you want to make sure you are providing the right skills for your employees, contact us at help@pureblueocean.com to see how we can help.