Assessing and Addressing, the training challenge

What topics should you be training your team on? In today’s economic condition training it’s something you should be considering in a very careful way. You shouldn’t stop training, but you should be judicious in how you spend your training dollars. Its important to consider what are the true needs that your team has. To help you make these choice, there are a few things you need to consider and some tips that can help you get there. What should you consider? When looking to train your team or team members, its important to address the root of your issues rather than the symptoms. What do I mean by this?  Situation 1 You are at a hotel checking out at 4:50 a.m. and are needing a shuttle bus to the airport. You requested it the night before and they promised you it would be there, but the clerk in front of you is saying that there is no shuttle available, then proceeds to tell you that he has to pay out of his own paycheck to get a shuttle and melts down because the “night crew never gets anything right and I have to pay for all their mistakes”! You have a problem here don’t you. But what is the problem? Is it the clerk who is handling this situation poorly or is it the lack of communication that preceded this situation? Well both are issues, but what does your team need? Situation 2 Your employee (a customer service agent at a retail store) is helping a customer who is complaining about a previous “poor experience” over the phone with another team member. The customer is complaining beyond reasonable terms as four fellow employee’s try to “avoid” the situation. After a few minutes the employee is frustrated as is the customer and you have to go fix the situation. You have a problem here don’t you. But what is the problem? Is it the employee who after some pressure breaks down or is it the fellow team members who didn’t help when they had the chance?  They are both problems, but what does your team need? While not the same situation, both of these have two very similar aspect. The teams need team communication training and or simple team building. Another somewhat similar need is that the clerks need conflict and stress management coaching. In my years of experience I have often come across clients who try to throw training at problems hoping that something will stick instead of looking at the problem and assessing where to put the training emphasis. In these two situation if the manager looks closely at the problem they’ll notice that they need to invest in their teams. If they work the teams needs the individual needs might improve or even correct themselves. Its like a stuffy nose, you can treat the symptom of the stuffy nose or you can treat the cause of the sinus infection. As you look at your current training dollars, you need to be sensible and intuitive of how you invest in training. So here are some tips and tools to help you put training dollars in the right place. Questions to ask <ol> <li>Is the problem a single person issue or are there other issues that might be perpetuating the problem? </li> <li>Does your team work as a team or as a group of people who are being forced to work together? </li> <li>When problems occur are team members creating solutions or are they waiting for someone else to create the solution? </li> <li>Can your teams afford to not have training? </li> </ol> Remember that training is an investment in your companies growth and future. It is how you can keep your saw sharpened and vision focused on the future. Assessing and addressing the problems correctly can help you avoid throwing money away. Be smart but be aggressive and reach success. Until next time, Happy training 2009-03-31T05:02:17Z

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assessing-and-addressing-the-training-challenge

2009-04-03T18:00:00Z

2009-04-03T17:36:31Z

What topics should you be training your team on? In today’s economic condition training it’s something you should be considering in a very careful way.

Assessing and Addressing, the training challenge

2009-04-03T17:36:31Z