Time For Training
Managers and employees alike recognize the need for training; the importance of learning and maintaining a variety of skills (e.g., technical, interpersonal, and leadership). These skills are required for improving performance in one’s current position as well as preparing for promotions or lateral moves, depending on the chosen career path.
If everyone agrees on the criticality of these training activities, what’s the problem? Time. More specifically, a perceived lack of time. I say “perceived” because many of us are faced with an age old dilemma: “I’m so busy with my current workload, I don’t have time to attend training” (even computer based training that is designed to be taken at our convenience).
So the issue may not be time. More likely, it’s a matter of priorities. There will always be urgent events (fires, floods, equipment breakdowns) to deal with. However, by planning ahead (clearing brush, building flood control channels, following maintenance procedures) many emergencies can be avoided. When employees are constantly reacting to emergencies, the results are often burnout, serious errors and/or high voluntary turnover—probably not the outcomes you are looking for.
As you prepare budgets and development plans, it’s wise to take a long term view of training needs. In addition to dealing with immediate needs, anticipate your future needs and start preparing now. That will better position you to deal with problems when they arise and to take advantage of new business opportunities. Consider training an investment in your company’s future; an insurance policy if you will.
By adopting this mindset, you and your employees are more likely to make time for training and reap the rewards. If you are interested in identifying training needs in your organization, please contact Kammy Haynes.
Prepping Applicants
Some companies have positions that are difficult to fill. This can be because it is required to work odd shifts or the work is physically demanding. How incumbent is it upon companies to develop an applicant pool for these jobs? This partially depends on the job (probably not a lot of need for training the next generation of ditch diggers) and the company’s willingness to partner with educators. Sure, you could argue that our schools (meant broadly) should be churning out the skilled workers of the future, but arguing doesn’t fix the problem. Perhaps you shouldn’t look to the schools for all of your help, but if you have jobs for which they can provide specific training, you would have a win-win situation.
For more information about recruitment and selection, please contact Warren Bobrow.
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