What happens to a company in today's competitive marketplace who doesn't continually invest in upgrading the skills of their employees? It's the same thing that would happen to a championship football team that doesn't practice and come up with new ways to outsmart the competition. Soon, they will no longer be a winner.
Employers recognize the importance of continuous learning and education in today’s business environment. They know that in order to survive in the “Information Age” they must be very;
- organized,
- technology savvy,
- able to utilize the resources available
How are we going to empower our employees to take ownership and find ways to be more efficient?
Good employers and managers not only recognize the importance of these things in the workplace, but they can also recognize their own strengths and the unique value they provide to the company. Not trying to be all things to all people. Recognizing your true strengths and allowing others to help develop your employees to their full potential…isn’t that what being a good employer is all about.
There are many small businesses that do not have the infrastructure to support a training department or person. Therefore the manager, HR person, or President may do much or all of the jobsite training. Let’s review five key reasons these people may not be best suited to train their employees:
- They Don't Have the Time...Let’s face it each one of the positions mentioned is a full time job. If they are spending time doing training and their job, something is not getting full attention. Over time, this strategy can create burn out for the person responsible for the training and therefore be fatal to the organization.
- They Don't Know How to Do It...Many managers are confronted by employees who want training. These people want to develop their skills and help their companies succeed. Their managers just don't know how to respond. So, like many people, when they don't know how to do something they will avoid it, or dance around the subject until it goes away. Eventually this “band-aid” to the solution will create an environment of unmotivated and unhappy employees who only do what it takes to get by.
- They Don't Know What Material to Use...There are so many books, materials, and videos available to companies for training purposes. You can choose from large companies and send your employees to all day “training” seminars on almost any subject that exists. So, how do you go about starting this process and how do you measure its effectiveness? This is why we believe personalized training for your employees that is matched with the company goals, mission, and values your company is trying to achieve helps our clients to get the most out of the training we provide.
- They Don't Know How to Follow-Up...One concern many mangers express is that they don't know how to measure the value of the training once their employees are back in the workplace. Our training programs provide follow up materials that you, the manager, have access to and can utilize to follow up once the training is complete. The best part is, it is relevant to the job, so the training information will not be foreign and is something you will be able to easily follow along with.
- They Don't Know How to Get People to Apply the New Skills Learned...What better way to motivate and empower your employees to apply the new skills learned than specific career training that is fun and helps them in their current position. They will be excited to dig in and begin applying these new skills immediately. If there are any questions after training, we are always available and all training modules and manuals are yours to keep.
Call 515-986-0373 or email kristin@yoursbspro.com today to learn more about our specialized training programs that are available and tailored to your company needs.
MS Excel Tip of the Week
Continuing with our “quick key” theme for the month of September, Simple Business Solutions, Inc. has some more time saving tips for you. As you work on your computer do you close out of one program before you open up another? No, of course not, no one does… If you are like me, by lunch time you have two e-mails started and open, a couple of spreadsheets open, and at least one internet site all “open” and silently staring at you from the bottom of your computer screen.
If you have all of these programs and documents open, wouldn’t it be nice to flip from one open document to the next, and quickly. Well you can, and without the use of your mouse - yes, you read that correctly – without touching the mouse. Simply, hold down the “Alt” & “Tab” keys to toggle back and forth between all of your open documents. Go ahead and try it! The faster you get at it – the more efficiently you can check out websites…like your favorite
MS Word Tip of the Week
Last week we learned how to keep our hands on the keyboard and off of the mouse to save time while copying and pasting. Appearance is most important when working with a word document - I’m sure you would agree! Whether you are writing a report or writing a letter to a business associate, you sometimes need your words to stand out. The best and easiest way to do this is to use the Bold, Italic, and Underline features in MS Word. The quickest way to use these features is, surprise, not the mouse, but instead to use your “quick keys”.
First, put your cursor in front of the word, sentence or paragraph that you want to either Bold, Italic, and Underline. Next, hold down your “Shift” key and use your “arrows” to highlight the words you want to stand out. Once you have the area highlighted, hold down the “Ctrl” key and the letter “b”. This will bold the selected, to turn it off simply just repeat and it will un-bold the area. If you would like to italicize the area instead then simply hold down the “Ctrl” key and the letter “i”. To use this feature to underline, simply hold down the “Ctrl” key and the letter “u”. Using these tips, you will learn to navigate your keyboard with lightning speed and give the wheels of your mouse the break they deserve! Just another tip for YOUR Simple Business Solution!
If you have questions about these tips or want to add your own, please feel free to email, call, or post a comment.
