The importance of training your employees
Training your employees is an investment, sometimes in money and always in time. But it is so important. Making the time and monetary commitment to develop your team can have huge benefits including:
Higher levels of performance and productivity
When people know exactly what they are required to do and have the knowledge and skills to do those tasks well, they are able to carry them out with more confidence. This means things get done faster and to a higher standard.
Increased profit
When people perform to a higher standard, orders can be turned around faster and fewer mistakes are made. Both of which lead to increased profit and decreased wastage for your business.
Increased customer satisfaction levels
When people are performing their roles well, customers are happier. When people know how to deal with a complaint effectively, those customers are happier. Happy customers are more likely to come back and buy again. They are also more likely to recommend your business to others.
Decreased staff turnover levels
People who receive training are typically more loyal and happier in their job. This means they are less inclined to leave, saving you the effort of recruiting and training someone new to take their place.
Decreased staff absence levels
People who are happier in their job are also less likely to be absent from work. This means that productivity levels in your business won’t be impacted as frequently with unexpected absences.
Developing your business
As you grow and develop your business, perhaps introducing new products, services or markets, your team will have to develop (and potentially grow) too. These changes won’t be successful unless the people implementing them on a day to day basis understand them and are able to do them.
Better reputation
When people are happy in their job and feel valued (as they do when they are properly trained and developed), they are more likely to speak positively about their employer. This means that the wider world are more likely to have a positive impression of your business, which in turn means they are more likely to buy from you and/or more likely to apply for a job with you should a vacancy arise. Having a larger pool of job applicants give you a greater range of people to employ from.
This article has been written by Fiona Pollock of Zostera Ltd.
