Creating Training for Your Company; a Path to Success
- Zoran Vidovic
- Nov 20, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Jan 3
We are dedicated to achieving the set goal by following our mission and vision, supported by the set standard.
What is our next step? It is to develop our training for each step of the process.
Let's dig deeper into it.
Table of contents
- Theoretical
- Practical
How do we develop necessary training?
- Individual training
- Group training
How do we decide on the necessary training?
- How does it improve our company operation?
- How does it improve costumer satisfaction?
- How does it effect our employees?
- Auditory learning
- Visual learning
- Kinesthetic learning
What is training?
The Cambridge Dictionary defines training as "the process of learning the skills you need to do a particular job or activity."
So, company training is a process that each employee is required to go through to achieve the desired level of expertise to be able to perform the required task in line with the company standard.
It consists of a theoretical and practical part, or both.
The theoretical part of training provides information about the goal it aims to achieve, the process and the means of reaching it.
It answers three key questions: What, How, and When.
What needs to be done?
How does it need to be done?
Timeframe: when does it need to be completed?
The practical part puts the theoretical part in perspective by going through the motions of executing it.
Learned What, How, and When is then put into motion by practicing it in real time.
What - is a constant question that is being analyzed during the performance. We constantly analyze input and decide on its importance.
A new customer is coming in; what are they looking for?
How - is an answer to that question in the form of a physical performance resulting in the delivery of a final product or a service.
Asking a customer for their order and delivering it.
When - is a timeframe we need to be within to deliver satisfactory results.
Serving a customer quickly will result in greater customer satisfaction compared to the customer getting served after an extended waiting period.
So, we can see that this is all interconnected, and all three elements need to be optimized to deliver a great product or service.
We could deliver fast (When?) and good quality service (How?), however, not what the customer was looking for (What?).
We could deliver good quality (How?) and accurate service (What?), however, not within the timeframe the customer was looking for (When?).
We could deliver accurate (What?) and fast service (When?), however, not the quality (How?) the customer was looking for.
Our goal is to deliver an exceptional, accurate, high-quality service on time, each time.
The question is, how do we achieve it?
By tailoring trainings to equip our employees to respond to customer requests with a deep understanding of our products and services and expectations in their delivery.
How do we develop the necessary training?
We are going to look into the products and services we plan to offer to our customers and compare them with guest expectations.
This will give us an understanding of what needs to be delivered, at what quality, and in what timeframe.
Then we will look at each product or service and identify key elements in the production and delivery. Those key elements are going to be analyzed, and the optimal process in its production/delivery will be identified and transformed into training.
This will then be classified into two categories:
Individual training will cover processes and procedures that need to be completed by an individual employee, utilizing available equipment and resources, in a set time frame at the desired quality level.
Group training will cover processes and procedures that need to be completed by the group of employees, utilizing available equipment and resources, in a set time frame at the desired quality level.
This is how we develop trainings for our employees for each critical part of the operation.
How do we decide on the necessary training?
We ask ourselves three questions:
How does it improve our company's operation?
Will it make the operation smoother, minimizing the necessary steps and expenses?
If so, how? By creating a more effective process from customer arrival to closing the purchase?
How does it improve customer satisfaction?
Will it advance the customer experience and attract new customers?
If so, how? Have we identified an opportunity for improvement that is going to be achieved with new training?
How does it affect our employees?
How is this going to affect our employees?
Are they going to benefit from the new training? Is it going to develop their skills and boost their confidence?
If the answer is yes, to all the above, then we are on a good path of elevating our customer satisfaction and potentially attracting new customers.
For example:
We decide to introduce a new process for the customers to pre-order before attending the store via mobile app. This might allow more time for preparation and release the pressure of delivering exceptional services in a short time frame. It also allows for smoother operation and a better customer experience for those customers not using the app, due to faster services.
If the answer is no, then we might cause confusion and unnecessary strain and stress to our employees and the operation.
For example:
We decided to implement a new check-out process with additional steps that involve store managers for purchases above a certain monetary value. This would complicate the process and take more time to complete, which would negatively affect our customers and our employees due to frequent customer complaints and longer lines.
So, the rule of thumb is to introduce new training in support of processes and procedures aiming to increase productivity and develop our employees, to make the operation more efficient and profitable, and to increase customer satisfaction.
We need to avoid introducing new training without identifying the benefits and the effects they might cause. The exception to this rule is the introduction of new training as a requirement by regulating government bodies, which cannot be avoided but needs to be presented to the employees in a way that will encourage them to accept them.
How do we deliver training?
Every person has a different learning style, so the training delivery will need to be adjusted to accommodate it.
For us to achieve this, we need to understand the difference between predominant learning styles.
Humans learn through listening (Auditory learning), seeing (Visual learning), and doing (Kinesthetic learning).
Auditory learning is learning through the audio input, by listening. People with a predominantly auditory learning style prefer audio input, such as audio lessons, audiobooks, podcasts, and discussions, as they can absorb that information. They understand and respond well to verbal instructions and prefer to read out loud written information. They can easily recall verbal information and follow a string of verbal instructions. Those are the people who have no problem following a series of verbal directions received during the vehicle ride without visual aids in the form of a map or a drawing.
Visual learning is learning through visual input, by seeing. People with this learning style like to visualize information through visual aids such as presentations, videos, graphs, drawings, plans, etc. They tend to learn by reading and have the ability to understand complicated drawings. These individuals will transform the audio input into the visual input to be able to recall it. It is like drawing a mental map.
Kinesthetic learning is learning by physical activity and repetition. People with this learning style like to do it and learn during the activity over audio and visual learning. It usually involves repetitive actions to master certain motions, depending on their complexity. Those are the people who throw away instruction manuals when assembling furniture and figure it all out on the go.
We need to understand that all three learning methods need to be incorporated into the learning process to accommodate different learning styles. This way we will provide equal opportunity for each employee to comprehend and absorb all the intended information in the intended fashion.
It is also crucial to understand this in our everyday interactions with our employees and business partners, as we might have better chances of relating the intended message and producing results.
What to consider during this process?
We have embarked on the entrepreneurial journey, which has one constant, and that is change!
We need to be ready for it and not lock ourselves in the mindset of "we have always done it this way" or "my way or highway."
Why? Because resistance to change will prevent us from learning and developing in line with it.
Getting out of the comfort zone is an uncomfortable but rewarding experience that allows for growth through exploration of various solutions to the presented challenges.
We need to understand the need for training and decide on optimal training to uplift our employees and boost their performance.
We need to tailor training for the targeted audience with the intention of relating the intended message.
We need to receive feedback from our employees and understand the effectiveness of the training to identify the areas for improvement.
Listen, observe, analyze, and act!
