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Tales from the
Corporate Frontlines: Training
is in the Eye of the Beholder
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by Josh Greenberg |
Editorial Note:
Training is essential but as the short story below describes, it is
hard to balance the need with employee motivation and overall
training effectiveness. This article will stimulate you to think
about how you can improve your training efforts. Kay
Graham-Gilbert
This article relates to the Training competency, commonly
evaluated in employee surveys. It comments on the value of training
to both the company and its workforce. The Training competency
investigates how your employees perceive the available training
opportunities and quality of training. Growing an organization's
internal knowledge base is crucial to the success of any business
and ensuring a growing knowledge base means investing in the
training of your employees. A Gallup poll conducted in 1998 reported
that eight out of 10 employees said they would be more likely to
stay with their present
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employer if they were offered more or
better training. Specifically, the questions included in this
competency are written to measure the adequacy, availability,
content of training, and satisfaction with the delivery of training
within your organization.
This short story, Training is in the Eye of the Beholder, is part of
AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales From the Corporate Frontlines. It
conveys the importance and value of corporate training programs to
employees, as well as the benefits companies enjoy when they put
forth the extra effort and expense and provide high-quality training
programs for the workforce. |
Anonymous Submission:
Many of my coworkers complain about a lack of employee training
programs. They learn new procedures by trial and error, become
irritated, and complain. After reorganization periods, many have found
themselves with additional duties that they are only vaguely familiar
with. After a few cursory sessions with another employee (usually
outgoing, and by that I don't mean friendly) they fend for themselves,
and they complain.
But there are two sides to the coin. Whenever our company launches a
large-scale training project, for example, our recent customer service
group sessions, they roll their eyes and moan. Oh no, that will eat up
hours of our precious time. Will we be able to go to lunch? Will it
infringe on break time?
The time came to enroll in the customer service sessions, and one person
from each department was required to attend. Sessions would continue
until all employees had completed the training. The sign up sheet went
around the office like a hot potato, and ended up with me. Oh well, I
was curious.
I was quite surprised. The facilitator was engaging, energetic, and
funny without going overboard on perkiness. I spent 20 hours that week
with strange people from other departments. Surely there was nothing I
needed to learn about customer service - it was after all, my occupation
and I'd never received a derogatory comment. My telephone persona was
perfect.
Or so I thought. As we moved through the training exercises as a group,
I discovered that my listening skills needed work, I didn't pay enough
attention to detail, and I was all too willing to hand off a difficult
customer to a supervisor rather than try to resolve the situation on my
own. I learned to pay attention, to empathize, to really analyze a
problem situation and build a plan to fix it.
A few weeks after the training session, the diploma arrived in inter
office mail. My coworkers teased. I just smiled. I remembered the
sessions and the effect they'd had on me, both personally and
professionally.
My advice to employees: don't refuse training programs - even when you
think you're an expert. You'll gain knowledge that remains with you
forever.
To employers: provide as many training programs as possible - seminars,
courses, online products. If your employees resist, they'll be grateful
later on, and your entire company will benefit.
© 2005
AlphaMeasure
Employee Surveys, Inc. - All Rights Reserved
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Measure. Report. Improve your
organization with
AlphaMeasure employee surveys. Josh Greenberg is President of
AlphaMeasure, Inc. AlphaMeasure provides organizations of all sizes a
powerful web based method for measuring employee satisfaction,
determining employee engagement, and increasing employee retention.
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You possess the drive to satisfy customers, we
are here to help you get there.
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across the organization
Copyright
©
2005 Interactive Consulting. All rights reserved.
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