There’s a common phrase
used by Organizational Development and Human Resource professionals,
when identifying kinks in the growth of an organization or company -
“It’s a training issue.”The
same phrase can be applied to almost any group of human beings that are
working together to achieve a common goal. When progress stagnates and
obstacles appear, you can retrace the path of movement and discover that
things started to go wrong when someone wasn’t trained properly.
Have you ever experienced any
of the following situations?
Fast Food Nightmare
You pull up to a fast food
drive through window and a voice, with a foreign accent quickly spews
out some inaudible words that you assume are probably akin to “May I
take your order?”
The waitress from hell
After being seated for thirty
minutes at a local restaurant, a waitress finally approaches your table
and asks if you’d like to order.When
you politely explain that you’re frustrated because you’ve been
waiting thirty minutes, she condescendingly responds with a sigh, “The
kitchen is backed up and I just had a party of fifteen in the other
room.”
Know-nothing
Receptionist
You miss a much anticipated
call from service person you’ve been trying to reach about a product
you purchased that doesn’t work correctly.When you call the person back, a receptionist says the person is
not in and you should try back later. The receptionist is not sure when
would be the best time and – no – the person you seek doesn’t have
voice mail.
Travel Trauma
After being on the road for
twelve hours, you arrive at the hotel where you have a reservation for
the night.The check in time
is posted as 3:30 pm.You
arrive at 4:30 pm but the room is not ready.You are politely encouraged to check back in about an hour to see
if the room is available.The
front desk clerk has no idea what you should do with the hour of “kill
time” and can’t guarantee that the room will even be ready in an
hour.
Office Chaos
You work in an office and
have a large amount of administrative tasks that bog you down.There is an administrative assistant working ten feet from your
desk who is supposed to offer support to your team.His understanding of “support” and yours differ.It appears that some members of your team get more support from
this guy than others. You express the inequity of support to your boss
who sees the conflict as “personality differences.”You just want your darn copies made in a timely fashion.
All of the instances above
show poor service and mismanagement – in some cases “abuse,” but
it all could undoubtedly
be corrected through proper training.Thus, the root of these corporate and retail nightmares are
addressed as “training
issues.”
“Training” is such a
bland word.The mere mention
of the word conjures up visions of boring classroom environments,
unenthusiastic training instructors and wasted time having concepts that
common sense has already taught you rammed down your throat.Few people are ever excited about training.My husband, who is an iron worker, recently went through training
mandated by OSCA that instructed all the workers on his team in the
safety procedures for operating a forklift truck.One of the most crucial training points was that “one should never leave the driver’s seat of the
forklift while the motor was running and the forklift was in gear.”Duh!
Despite the
negative karma training
has gained in the corporate world, and the hype it was granted during
the dot.com boom, the simple truth is that training is not merely
dispensing information about technique and skill. It
is also communicates expectations
and requirements of the job.People
need to be told what is expected of them in clear terms, and relaying
that expectation is a part of the training process.Training lays the foundation for affirming performance as well as
correcting mistakes.
In all of the examples above,
the “untrained” employee has emotionally disconnected themselves
from the person they are employed to serve.Each has personal issues foremost in their minds which override
their willingness to adequately serve others.If you were to get their side of the story, you’d hear
some of the following responses:
"Everything
moves so fast around here.It’s
all I can do to keep up. No one really tells me what to do; they just
tell me if I’m doing something wrong.”
“I
could do my job if those I depended on could do theirs.”
“I’m
tired of taking the hits for the poor performance of my superiors.”
“No
one ever told me exactly what my job is.I guess they think I’ll figure it out.What I know of my job expectation has been mostly communicated by
others telling me what I’m doing wrong. It’s every man for himself
around here”
Poor service is not due to poor employees, but
poor employers.
The bottom line is that lack
of service = lack of growth, lack of productivity, lack of profits.Your company’s lack of service will pay a high price in the
world of your competitors. You will have to continually compensate with
special promotions, additional advertising, increased hiring and give-aways
to disgruntled customers.Good
service is linked to happy, valued employees that provide the service.
Training is a crucial tool in helping employees feel valued in the work
environment.
How do you use training to
solve the problems mentioned above?It’s all about having a training program that is set in place
and held as a priority.Don’t
fall into the “training out of desperation” category and only offer
training when you have to put out a fire.Remember that training can be a form of giving your employees
attention and recognition.If
done well, they will appreciate it and feel affirmed.
Always have some type of
training scheduled.It can
be as infrequent as once a quarter or as frequent as once a week.You can do it in house or outsource it.Having scheduled training opportunities will prevent the
development of service problems that cost you big time in the long run.
New Hire Orientation
The most important training
you’ll ever do with an employee will be when he or she first comes on
board.Here’s an example
of training to put in place for new hires.
As a company policy, be sure to
have specific, written job descriptions for each employee, and a
system established for continually updates.Job descriptions should focus on competencies rather than
functions.
Develop an Orientation
Training Program for each new employee that is hired.The
program can last anywhere from one half a day to a week, but it
should include the following:
Introduction to the rest of
the staff.
Thorough review of the job
description and company policies with the direct report, clearly
laying out expectations and processes for recognition and
correction.Allow time
for questions and answers.
Site tour – where are the
bathrooms, kitchen, parking spaces, emergency exit, etc.
Employee paperwork – W4,
benefit forms, waivers, copy of Personnel Regulations and job
description, etc.
New hire should be given a
thorough briefing on what the organization does, its goals, its
vision, who it serves and the role of the new hire’s position in
the grand scheme of things.
If possible, assign another
staff person to be on call for questions that arise by the new
hire.
Be nice and have that staff
person or yourself take the new hire to lunch their first day.
Have a 30 day review set up
(mark it on your calendar) where you will evaluate the new
hire’s performance and inquire about their feelings and
frustrations related to the job. NOTE: If
you reschedule or cancel this 30 day review, you'll send that
employee a clear message about the priority you place on their
training and development. This meeting is crucial to the new
hire and they anticipate it with great expectation.
A
training program, aside from being a way to continually dispense needed
information to your employees is also one of the most effective methods
for gaining information about how to improve company infrastructure.It is a safe environment for workers to share thoughts, feelings
and ideas on how to improve the company.In addition, training – when done properly – affirms
employees, helps them to develop a sense of loyalty to the company,
reduces turnover and creates a prime opportunity for building consensus.
Training and development is an investment, not
a cost.
Fortune
500’s lists on top companies, Best Small Businesses, Best Companies to
Work For and Best Bosses have repeatedly displayed interest in employee
satisfaction as well as training and development.Edward Jones, a stockbrokerage out of St. Louis, MO was rated #1
for the second consecutive year on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to
Work For.”
According
to Fortune it spends 3.8% of its payroll on training, with an average of
146 hours for every employee, and new brokers get four times that much.When asked why it spends so much on training managing partner
John Bachmann replied, “In order to grow, you have to be trained or
you get trapped in the present.”One
administrative assistant at Edward Jones was quoted by a Fortune
journalist saying, “I’ve never experienced working for a company
that has so many satisfied employees.”(1)
A
training program is an ideal starting point to take action to decrease
turnover, improve employee performance and initiate loyalty.It is also a strong foundation for developing affective
communication within the company or organization. If you have no
training program currently established, start with an orientation
training program or look to your local university or community college
for training opportunities.Start
a training library by ordering books, videos and periodicals that
address competencies you want to develop in your staff.Beginning or improving a training program shows employees that
you care.
1.
Fortune Magazine, January 20, 2003 Issue:
Summary on Edward Jones – Ann Harrington
