Tag Archive for: reasons to provide employee training

Why You Should Invest in Your Employees

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These days’ workers are looking for more than traditional benefits, vacation time and a one hour lunch break. They want to be engaged, challenged and feel like the company that they give so much of themselves to will give more than a paycheck. Since employee training and team building events are less expensive than employee turnovers, education, training and opportunities to offer a creative outlet are great ways to re-energize, empower and bring the best out of your workforce.

Benjamin Franklin

Our wise and witty founding Father once said, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” If this is true for general education, it yields the same result for continuing education. Stagnant employee minds can breed not only mediocre performance and work culture attitudes, but a mediocre financial outcome.

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study found that 35% of workers consider professional development programs to be the top benefit offered by their employers and one of the most engaging.  Your people are your most important asset, so investing in their development is critical.  Two results of a Gallup research study recently caught our attention:

  • Disengaged employees cost U.S. companies $370 billion annually through lost productivity.
  • Engaged employees are 22 times more likely to be an advocate for their organization than disengaged employees.

Translation: the level of employee engagement has an incredible impact on your financial performance.

A Spark of Creativity

Another way to increase employee engagement would be to refresh their mindset.  Have you ever tried to solve a problem, complex or not, and found your mind blank, unable to solve much of anything? This may be because you are thinking too specifically and relying on past successes. Mixing up environments may help shake the thinking block. Harvard Business School Professor Michael Norton examined thinking and habit, “If you’ve done something the same way for 10 years, it might be time to reconsider.”

Providing employees with the opportunity to think and experience new events in areas that don’t have much to do with their job function, may actually help them with their job. Psychology professor Charlan Nemeth of the University of California at Berkeley has said that this “demonstrates that exposure to unfamiliar perspectives can foster creativity.” Company volunteering, workshops that appeal to the employee not their job description, and breaks throughout the day or work year allow the mind to wander, see situations in a new light and refresh the individual to perform their function with a fresh perspective.

To satisfy the whole person, increase employee retention and keep productivity operating on high levels, your workforce needs to know that you, their employer, want them to increase their knowledge and experience new challenges. Meaningful employment today is more than a job description, it’s a key to personal/ professional identity and purpose.

 

Author: Elyse Lopez

Why You Should Invest in Your Employees

,

These days’ workers are looking for more than traditional benefits, vacation time and a one hour lunch break. They want to be engaged, challenged and feel like the company that they give so much of themselves to will give more than a paycheck. Since employee training and team building events are less expensive than employee turnovers, education, training and opportunities to offer a creative outlet are great ways to re-energize, empower and bring the best out of your workforce.

Benjamin Franklin

Our wise and witty founding Father once said, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” If this is true for general education, it yields the same result for continuing education. Stagnant employee minds can breed not only mediocre performance and work culture attitudes, but a mediocre financial outcome.

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study found that 35% of workers consider professional development programs to be the top benefit offered by their employers and one of the most engaging.  Your people are your most important asset, so investing in their development is critical.  Two results of a Gallup research study recently caught our attention:

  • Disengaged employees cost U.S. companies $370 billion annually through lost productivity.
  • Engaged employees are 22 times more likely to be an advocate for their organization than disengaged employees.

Translation: the level of employee engagement has an incredible impact on your financial performance.

A Spark of Creativity

Another way to increase employee engagement would be to refresh their mindset.  Have you ever tried to solve a problem, complex or not, and found your mind blank, unable to solve much of anything? This may be because you are thinking too specifically and relying on past successes. Mixing up environments may help shake the thinking block. Harvard Business School Professor Michael Norton examined thinking and habit, “If you’ve done something the same way for 10 years, it might be time to reconsider.”

Providing employees with the opportunity to think and experience new events in areas that don’t have much to do with their job function, may actually help them with their job. Psychology professor Charlan Nemeth of the University of California at Berkeley has said that this “demonstrates that exposure to unfamiliar perspectives can foster creativity.” Company volunteering, workshops that appeal to the employee not their job description, and breaks throughout the day or work year allow the mind to wander, see situations in a new light and refresh the individual to perform their function with a fresh perspective.

To satisfy the whole person, increase employee retention and keep productivity operating on high levels, your workforce needs to know that you, their employer, want them to increase their knowledge and experience new challenges. Meaningful employment today is more than a job description, it’s a key to personal/ professional identity and purpose.

 

Author: Elyse Lopez

A Case for Continuous Learning in the Workplace

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There’s something about spring time…the days are longer and brighter.  The songs of the birds in the morning are a little louder.  People start to shed their heavy sweaters in favor of airy cottons in perky colors.  All of those things put a little more bounce in your step as the winter (at least in Michigan) melts away.

But what about energizing your insides?  What can you do to feel like you’ve opened the door to your mind and brushed the cobwebs out?

At Brightwing, we have an ABG Program (Always Be Growing) where  employees  collaborate with their managers and choose their own path to learning something new.  It can be something traditional – like a class; something hands-on (like shadowing a co-worker to get a better understanding of their position and challenges); or something of a more personal nature – like getting a group of your co-workers to exercise together.

It is our philosophy that whatever you do to expand your mind and experiences will help you grow stronger as a person and improve the company as a whole. According to “How to Incorporate Career Development and Training with Work Requirements” published by SHRM (3/26/2010), focusing on the following will help determine appropriate training:

  • Recognizing departmental goals and objectives as a basis for developing employees
  • Managers should be in a position to assist the employee in achieving their goals and helping them to manage their time so they can reach their objective
  • The organization’s goals should be communicated through a policy that creates a culture supporting employee development  (tuition refund, etc.)

 

If you are in a position to offer growth opportunities to the people in your organization, make it an amazing experience for them.  Help them see the advantages of learning something new.

And if you are the one who is given the chance to learn something new???  Don’t look for the easy way out!  Challenge yourself to really do the analysis on where you want to be and how you are going to get there.  Learning is all around you.  In the words of Gandhi, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

 

A Case for Continuous Learning in the Workplace

,

There’s something about spring time…the days are longer and brighter.  The songs of the birds in the morning are a little louder.  People start to shed their heavy sweaters in favor of airy cottons in perky colors.  All of those things put a little more bounce in your step as the winter (at least in Michigan) melts away.

But what about energizing your insides?  What can you do to feel like you’ve opened the door to your mind and brushed the cobwebs out?

At Brightwing, we have an ABG Program (Always Be Growing) where  employees  collaborate with their managers and choose their own path to learning something new.  It can be something traditional – like a class; something hands-on (like shadowing a co-worker to get a better understanding of their position and challenges); or something of a more personal nature – like getting a group of your co-workers to exercise together.

It is our philosophy that whatever you do to expand your mind and experiences will help you grow stronger as a person and improve the company as a whole. According to “How to Incorporate Career Development and Training with Work Requirements” published by SHRM (3/26/2010), focusing on the following will help determine appropriate training:

  • Recognizing departmental goals and objectives as a basis for developing employees
  • Managers should be in a position to assist the employee in achieving their goals and helping them to manage their time so they can reach their objective
  • The organization’s goals should be communicated through a policy that creates a culture supporting employee development  (tuition refund, etc.)

 

If you are in a position to offer growth opportunities to the people in your organization, make it an amazing experience for them.  Help them see the advantages of learning something new.

And if you are the one who is given the chance to learn something new???  Don’t look for the easy way out!  Challenge yourself to really do the analysis on where you want to be and how you are going to get there.  Learning is all around you.  In the words of Gandhi, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

 

The Hiring Dilemma: Culture vs Talent

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Hiring a new employee is a skill that involves a lot of tact. It’s really an art form. In essence, you are bringing someone into your organization to provide something of value or fulfill a need. Obviously, most hiring managers go for talent that has the experience to back it up. This method does not always take in the big picture.

Flight Restriction

Hiring an employee based off experience alone will not necessarily garner the best outcome. It is the Brightwing belief that the people you hire have to also come with one essential thing; the ability to uphold your core values by having a genuine interest in the work and to get along with the people that they interact with on a daily basis. Is your company using this idea to the fullest?

Take Off

Let’s take a closer look to explain what we mean. Say you are in the business of hiring cartoon characters for a cold calling position. Your first potential hire is a spunky cat with little experience in the industry, but a chipper personality and desire to learn. He seems to have almost all of the values that your company does, but his experience in the line of work is from a different position. You decide you want to wait for someone with more experience. Your next potential hire is a tall, gray rabbit with a carrot in his mouth. He seems pretty personable, greeting you with a “What’s up doc?” His resume is also very promising. He gets the position based on past experience alone.

The new employee comes to work the next day, eyes bloodshot from too many carrots the previous night. He sits down and dials up his first cold call. The first core value of your company is taking the time to build a relationship with those you call, but this employee is very apathetic to his candidates. In the cubicle next to him is your best employee; a short man with a speech impediment, a hunting suit, and a rifle. Obviously things are going to go sour at this point. Suddenly, the new employee’s experience means nothing because he is running for his life. Your best employee is also rendered useless because he is too busy trying to kill your new one. What does this mean? The workplace is shot along with your client base because your employees cannot get along with each other, let alone spend the time to create a relationship with your patrons.

The new employee’s resume looked amazing, but he was actually not a good fit for your company because he didn’t share the same core values. He was also not able to work with other employees in the building. For this reason, it is important to always ask the right questions in the interview process so that you have a good idea of the person’s fit within the company. In this case, the first potential was probably the better choice. He seemed to care more about the job and have the core values that would have helped him fit within the company. Obviously, finding a mix between both candidates can happen too and is the desired outcome, but it does not always happen. Most hiring managers never even consider these ideas when screening potential employees.

Maintaining Altitude

The hiring process has to be about more than what’s on paper. You need people who can do their task well, but be devoted to it and the relationships with those around them in the process. Genuine employees go the extra mile because they really care about your company’s purpose. That is what you want right?

Making the Most of Your Employee Training

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Hold on to your hats because it’s time for all employees to get their dose of training! Your company has found reason to give its workers more knowledge on a particular subject, whether it is the integration of a new company wide program or leadership skills.

Flight Restriction

Training usually ends up being the afterthought of doing anything new. A lot of companies think that their employees are super human robots that can pick up and go with something like a fish to water. It’s time for a reality check, though. People need to learn about the new before they can become comfortable with it. But with so many different training approaches, what is the best way to make this happen?

Take Off

According to a survey done by the Chapman Alliance, the average time it takes to create a single hour for a training session is 43 hours. That is almost two days of work for an hour of material. That is why it is so important to know exactly how to approach a training course before it takes place. I mean, you wouldn’t submerge your hand in water before testing the temperature first right? The type of training is decided upon based on the people who are receiving the information. If the employees are scattered around the state, you obviously want to create a training program that involves SWAT teams breaking into their homes at night, kidnapping them, and taking them to a remote facility in South America that has a chalk board and desks. The easier method, however, is just utilizing the internet.

Brightwing and i3Logic strive hard to find the best possible courses of action for a training class. With technology today, the realm of possibilities for learning has grown substantially. Instructor led face-to-face training is not the only way to go.

E-learning initiative (online training) has become extremely convenient and popular as well. It is separated into the three following methods depending on how much interaction is needed:

Level 1: Low Interaction. This process involves graphics and written info for one to read online.

Level 2: Medium Interaction: This process involves videos or recorded interaction.

Level 3: High Interaction. This process involves interaction with avatar interviewing.

You can also blend the two methods together and do instructor led training online with group meetings and discussions in a virtual classroom. Don’t forget your virtual paper airplanes and spit wads when you log on!

If a small amount of employees need training and are all in the same general area, instructor led training works wonders. It allows for a great amount of interaction and knowledge sharing between employees and instructor. However, a lot of companies find it difficult to provide physical training because their employees are not all in the same place. This is where customized online training programs come in handy. The level of e-learning depends on the motivation of the employees. If they don’t want to do it, then a higher level of interaction is needed to keep them interested. Shiny objects are advised as people are generally attracted to them.

Maintaining Altitude

So there you have it! Now you know what learning solutions companies go through. Are you doing all that you can to make sure your employees are trained properly and efficiently? It is a long process that must be molded to fit each individual situation. In fact, I think I’ll end this blog so I can go work on my online employee potty training class!