There’s an old joke about an executive who worries that training & team building of their employees will be a bad investment because they might leave, to which the sage CEO says, “What if we don’t train them and they stay?”
Contrary to common fears, training employees doesn’t usher them out the door. Yes, training may prepare employees for employment outside your company, but it also prepares them for a better future working for you.
You can increase the likelihood that your employees will use the training they receive for your benefit by giving them opportunities to put what they’ve learned to immediate use and rewarding them when the new skills and extra effort pay off. Prompt application of what they’ve learned will help solidify their knowledge, while the positive reinforcement will encourage continued use of the new skills.
Writing in Harvard Business Review, Seth Harris and Jake Schwartz, argue that competing for skilled workers may be a mistake that organizations would be better served by team building and growing the talent they have from within. Employers are often reluctant, however, to invest in training programs, and it’s not hard to ascertain why. Additional skills may make an employee more “marketable” to other employers, and if the worker takes employment elsewhere, the investment goes with them.
The authors, Seth Harris and Jake Schwartz are cognizant of this risk, but they note that investing in training, team building, and skill development benefits employers, albeit some employees do leave the organization. For one thing, because employees prize educational opportunities at work, training and development programs can aid recruitment and retention efforts.
Training & Team Building For Your Managers
The value of providing training to managers throughout the employment life cycle cannot be overlooked. Training ensures that your managers are knowledgeable about your company’s workplace law obligations and skilled in delivering human resources best practices in order to become successful in their roles. Training further enables business costs to be low, employer liability to be controlled, and allows for successful organizations to emerge. Did you know that in 2010 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed 99,992 charges against the private sector?
Managers should be trained in various discipline areas, but some may or may not apply depending upon the company’s size and industry. Below are some suggested strategies and compliance training topics to assist managers in increasing effectiveness and reducing exposure.
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Business Execution
Monitoring business goals, supervising employees, and managing organizational changes may result in improved business effectiveness.
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Leadership
Providing ample opportunities for employees to have open communication and share a common vision, mission and goal helps with decreasing employee turnover rates.
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Performance Management
Learning to provide evaluations that are fair, objective, and based on the organization’s goals opens the door to feedback and conveys to employees they are valuable assets to the organization
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Diversity
getting to know who your employees are, how to execute equal employment opportunities with non-discrimination tactics, and handling generational differences allows for increased employee satisfaction retention rates.
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Business Crises Management
Planning, analyzing and evaluating how to handle stressful, harmful, or safety-related hazards that occur intentionally or un-intentionally (such as violence, injuries, accidents, fires, earthquakes, etc.) enables managers to take action rationally and rely on the team when needed.
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HR Best Practices.
Learning the basics about hiring, termination, harassment, business policies, employment laws, paperwork compliance, etc., sets forth better protection for managers and organizations. Often, the number and degree of EEOC complaints, OSHA violations, wage and hour penalties, or other claims are reduced when managers receive training on these topics to assist them in making informed decisions.
It is vital to understand that once training is received, managers should be able to “transfer” the training into actual real life situations and settings when an opportunity presents itself. One way managers can transfer training learned is by utilizing action plans. Proper training can assist organizations by enhancing performance, productivity, employee satisfaction and customer service within a department. So, start training every day!
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About guHRoo (formerly ERG)
Most small business owners know that great HR is a “must” to growing their company.
Yet every one of our hundreds of clients has struggled with HR compliance and best practices.
We provide all-in-one HR services including payroll, employee benefits, and compliance so that you can focus on running your business.
If that sounds helpful, we’d love to talk. You can get in touch at support@ergpayroll.com or at 803-575-0710.
