Running a business is very complex. There are so many things to consider. You need to know everything at all times. But wouldn’t it be so much easier if others also knew what was going on? There is nothing worse than having bad colleagues. If someone doesn’t know how the business is running, or what they should be doing, things start to go pear-shaped. One way to avoid this is through training and development.
Often training and development are undervalued. The importance is neglected and forgotten about. Which then results in businesses not running so smoothly. To avoid this, read through this article to learn the importance of training and development. Get ahead of your competitors and glide towards growth, sales, and profit!
I will go through reasons explaining the importance of training and development. All the points I will cover in this article kind of tie in together. They link in some ways, as they are all connected to bettering your company.
Training and Development Making You and Your Employees More Comfortable
Hiring staff is stressful. Knowing who to choose. Will they be the right fit? Are they actually going to work to their full potential? The answer is no. Not unless you encourage them to be the right one and work to their best ability. No one wants a rude or stressed boss. So don’t be that person. Avoid bossing them around in a patronising manner. I think that’s obvious. We all know not to do that. But it’s sometimes difficult knowing what kind of boss to be instead.
Use training and development schemes to help your team. Make them more comfortable in the workplace. Be a good boss. It allows them to understand the line of business and get a grip of the product knowledge. Don’t throw them in the deep end, expecting them to face customers with no knowledge. It is also important to train staff around mental health and well-being within the workplace. Retail and hospitality workers claim higher levels of stress and anxiety when they haven’t had sufficient training.
The RSPH found 84% of hospitality workers have increased stress believed to be due to their job. It was also found that only 10% had training in wellbeing. This stress can also lead to underperformance. So, it’s not only bad for the staff themselves, but it also negatively affects your business. This is why it is so important to use training and development sessions at the start of a job.
Making Your Staff More Confident
With training and development sessions taking place, staff have the opportunity to ask questions. Give them time and space to ask about things they are unsure about. It is so normal for a new employee to get completely lost on their first day. If they haven’t any idea where to start or what the business plan is, who can be to blame? Their mentor. That could be you as their boss or the person who employed them. Whatever your role is, make sure the correct training is put in place.
Making You More Confident
Answering vital questions about the business also strengthens your knowledge. A recap on facts and figures or stock information can be really useful. It allows you to go over things. Things that might have slipped to the back of your mind as you get caught up in other things. Having this teaching role can help you become more confident when approached by customers. You are more likely to know the answers to tough questions if you have just taught them to your staff.
Even if you do already feel confident in your business knowledge, there is no better form of learning than teaching. Studies have shown that the best and most effective way of learning is through teaching.
Employee Retention
My next point leads on from the last. If your staff feel more confident in their role and more comfortable within the business, they’re more likely to stay. Therefore, preventing you from having to hire again for the same role. They are less likely to quit after long term employment. The introduction of training and development will encourage this retention.
This makes your business more cost-efficient. Once you have invested in sufficient training and development, staff will have the right skill set. Employ one person and put work into that individual. Having a baseline of knowledge will make your staff happier and more equipped to work productively.
Another cost-effective benefit of training and development is the number of employees you need to have. You might not need as many workers as you initially thought if they are competent in the job. One person with the right training can work just as well, or even better than a small team without training. This means you do not need to spend more on hiring an extra employee. Keep your costs down this way. However, make sure you are paying your staff the right wage for the skill-set they are working at.
Avoid The Stress of Sacking
You also are less likely to need to fire anyone. It is one of the worst parts of the job as a boss. Firing people is so difficult and can be really upsetting. Knowing how to do it gently to cause less hurt is hard.
With the training and development employed with your employees, they are less likely to make so many mistakes. Obviously, it’s not the employee’s fault if they mess up due to a lack of training. But not all bosses see it this way.
Carrying on from the point I made earlier, this is the way to be a good boss. Call your staff out for mistakes they make, if necessary, but teach them how to avoid them before they start.
Use Training and Development to Build Trust with Customers
Create trust between you and your customers by using training and development. Once you have a skilled set of employees, they will be able to work with customers better. They will have the knowledge to answer questions about products. Customers will feel more comfortable and confident asking questions if they feel they will get an answer.
Think about the last time you were in a shop or buying something online. Did you have questions or queries about the thing you were buying? If yes, then what did you do? Most people will look for a question and answer section of an online website. However, if you are in a store, you can ask a store assistant. Going up to someone working can be nerve-wracking, especially if they don’t look confident themselves. Whereas, if they look like they’re working happily, communicating with other customers and colleagues, you might also ask for help.
You can even encourage your staff to seek out customers in the store. I think we have all experienced the shop assistant coming over when you’re browsing. This is a good sign for potential customers, that they care. Even if a customer doesn’t have an immediate question, they know they can ask if and when one arises. When a potential customer is satisfied, they know about a product, clearly, they will be more likely to buy.
Customer Experience
Customer experience is becoming more and more important. Companies are starting to know the value of this, as customers value it so highly too. When you have a good experience in a shop, you are more likely to want to return. Whereas, when you have a bad experience, you don’t! All shoppers want to avoid stress.
The stress of your staff impacts the experience of the shopper. This has a ripple effect which results in sales. If you have well-performing, unstressed, well-trained staff, you will have happy buyers.
Once you have created a good customer experience for some shoppers, you start to build a reputation. Or, if you don’t, you get a bad rep! A good reputation, as we all know, brings in more potential customers. More potential customers bring more sales. It is a cycle.
Use Training and Development to Avoid Trouble
Trouble in business can come in many forms. It could be a sales dip. Or an employee making a mistake with a customer. A lapse in judgement with a marketing strategy. Even trouble when failing to follow business guidelines. The last one is quite important to avoid. Training and development can help you do that.
Check out our latest article to learn what to do when you see a dip in your sales. We also have an article up about how to create a social media strategy. Our blog is a great place to keep an eye on when learning more for your business.
No business should get in trouble for failing to stick to the law. It is vital to follow every guideline in place so that you avoid this issue. Utilising training and development to the full potential with your staff can help.
One example could be if you have a business in food. We all know hygiene is key within the food industry. Every food production team or retail site must follow strict regulations, in order to sell food and stay in business. There are strict legal requirements set out in the 1990 Food Safety Act. It is a legal requirement that anyone you hire must follow the guides. Therefore, they must be trained.
Are you following all Data Protection laws? If you work with marketing and have a marketing list, is it GDPR compliant? Whoever handles these parts of your business, again, must be trained. They must know exactly what they should and should not be doing. To learn more about the importance of GDPR complaint marketing lists, read our article on it.
Mystery Shoppers
Another example could be a mystery shopper. If you have a mystery shopper, you want them to have the best experience possible.
As the name suggests, you don’t know who it is. So, it is important to be on your best form, all of the time. This requires your staff to be on their best form. As I have already explained, the way to do this is through training. So when it comes to a mystery shopper review, the feedback will be good. They will have had a positive customer experience, as you can be sure your staff are up to scratch.
Training and development can reduce the risk of getting in all sorts of trouble.
See The Profits from Training and Development
This point really carries on from all the others. Customer experience affects reputation, which brings in sales. Which boosts your business. Trust is built. Staff are happy and productive. You avoid trouble by following all guidelines and rules. This can all stem from learning the importance of training and development.
Reduce issues within the company by being the one that uses training and development. Tackle topics you don’t always get right. If you become aware of an area of business that falls behind the rest, work on it. Listen to your employees, figure things out together.
Put in the good that you want to come out. Invest in all parts of your business, not just a large service or product range. It is great to have this and can be impressive. But no one wants to buy when they don’t trust the brand. All the small things are important.
In summary, learn with your business. The communication between all levels will increase and improve. Outdo your competitors in every form. This starts with the training. Everything will start to run more smoothly. Watch the performance of your business blossom. And reap the reward of what you have put into it.
Conclusion
If you’re still not convinced, consider what your employees want. Not only will it reduce stress and prevent them from messing up or quitting, but it helps in another way. Your staff will learn more about the area of business you are hiring them in. These skills are often transferable. They can take this knowledge and training with them, throughout their career. Whether that is with you or someone else is unknown. However, being the employer that teaches the skills, develops their understanding and provides good training will make them favour you.
There are so many benefits listed in this article, so I hope it has helped you see the importance of training and development. If you take our advice and invest in your business, let us know. Whatever area of business you are in, you can see the benefits after using training.
Tell us how you are doing in the comments. Have you already used some form of training? If so, what was it and how did it go? We’d love to hear from you.