Training: Try it! You’ll like the results

Never underestimate the power of proper training.

I have seen the good things that happen to a company when the workforce is well trained. And I have also witnessed the bad things that can happen when management ignores training.

Here are a few real-life examples:

• Set up to fail. A young man in the accounting department was promoted to supervisor. When I tried to enroll him (he had no supervisory training or skills) into supervisory training, the department manager said, “No. Let’s wait to see if he ‘makes’ it before spending money on training him.”

It was a “catch 22” situation. The young man failed in his new job.

• Knowing is doing. In the days of Affirmative Action programs, managers had been told to consider qualified minorities and females for open positions, but these candidates never seemed to get hired. Then, I discovered the managers had never been trained on the law and how it affected the company.

Once they were trained, the problem went away.

• A permanent reminder. A press operator in the factory where I worked needed to take a break. The team leader (who had never received team leader training) assigned a worker to take over the press. He told the worker, “Push this button to start the machine, this one to stop it. Feed parts in here.”

Ten minutes later, disaster hit. A part jammed and the worker reached in to free it. The press came down and amputated the tips of two fingers. She carries a permanent reminder of what the lack of training on safety procedures can cause.

Training is an investment, not an expense. In a service organization, it pays off in customer (patient) loyalty. That means you don’t have to find as many new patients because the old ones keep you busy.

What should your training program include? Consider following the Ritz-Carlton’s four-prong plan. (The Ritz-Carlton Company has won national accolades for its superb customer service.) According to Workforce magazine, the Ritz:

1. Develops a profile for each job and hires people to match the profile;
2. Gives employees an intensive orientation to company philosophy;
3. Teaches them the skills necessary to be successful; and
4. Reinforces training each day.

Four simple steps — pretty easy. As the TV commercial says, “Try it, you’ll like it!”

Until next time,

Linda Segall, Editor-in-Chief