is your training investment paying it's way?

You can manage processes
But people need to be led

Vernon Smith outlines some
golden rules for ensuring
your training is an
investment not a cost!

The Golden Rules of Training Payback
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Being outstanding at training is fairly straightforward – but so few businesses do it. You just need to continually test new training strategies on a small scale.

It may be a new workshop, a new distance learning tool, a new review system, a reading list, a new intranet web site, a learning campaign. You test small, then you measure the results. What did it cost? What response did it generate?

If it was not measurable, you’ve learnt an important lesson and move on. If it was measurable, you can evaluate the return on investment & you roll it out and make it an integral part of your business strategy and development agenda. We call this Targeted Response Training - the marketing industry have been doing it for years!

If you test five new training ideas and just one out of the five was successful (if you use our Targeted Response Training strategies it’s more likely to be four out of five) then at the end of a year you would have several new proven training and development strategies adding to your mix. So testing and measuring all of your training is the first golden rule of development and delivering on your business strategy.

Of course, before you test new training approaches, you should be testing and measuring what you are already doing. For example, the number of businesses who buy external training and have never accurately measured the response and therefore don't know if it works - is scary. For an investment of several thousand pounds and an leverage on such a critical resource - how your people think and behave, a simple happy sheet at the end of the workshop is woeful!

If you're going to be outstanding as a business, you must, must test and measure everything you do to improve the performance of your people.

The best businesses share a similar way of thinking about the purpose of their business. The highest purpose of their business is not to just make money or increase profits. The highest purpose of their business is to add real value to the lives of their staff, suppliers, customers & clients.

We mean focusing upon a mission to enhance the lives of those you interact with. Why is this so important? It is the single most effective sales tool any business can employ. Period!

If you buy from a company and they just want to make money from you, it soon becomes apparent doesn't it? But if you call a company and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to make your life easier, solve your problems, meet your needs and answer your questions – don’t you just love it?

This is our approach and philosophy at Command UK. It takes some getting into your head, but all training must connect with your individuals and teams at an emotional level. It must plug into their very being, connecting with their beliefs and reinforcing their values. Being of service to others, supporting people, taking pride in being exceptional and reaping the reward of a relationship strengthened is deep in the value system of most of us.

When a company moves beyond obsessing about how great it's product or service is, and focuses as well upon adding enormous value to the lives of it's staff,suppliers, customers and clients – the profits accelerate.

Not only this, but stress ebbs, frustrations die away, smiles return, energy increases and success builds upon success. Everyone wants to be part of something special and the good luck come from where good planning meets excellent preparation !

One of the biggest training mistakes that businesses make is focusing on the details of their training, rather than the benefits of changing to the staff and ultimately the customers.

People will only buy into the change that is at the core of any training programme when they, either consciously or sub consciously understand how they are going to benefit from what you are offering them.

Every conversation you have, every report you write, every comment you make and every question you ask should focus upon the benefits of the training and the need to maximize it's impact. Of course, for this to happen YOU have to be clear on what these benefits are!

Sometimes, we’re so close to our business that’s not such an easy question to answer. Ask some of your colleagues what the top three benefits of last years training were?

If they hesitate or procrastinate– you’ve identified the first major area where you can make a significant difference to your return on investment and delivery to your customers.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. When you book someone onto a training course - do you always spend time briefing them and identifying with them how the training will be utilised to make a difference to performance when they come back?
2. Before attending a course, do you and your team members always book diary time for when you get back to consolidate and implement what you have learned?
3. Do you always link training to business goals and key performance indicators and measure the impact against them?
4. Do you challenge colleagues to demonstrate and justify that what they have learned is making a difference?

Sobering how poorly defined the strategy for utilising and leveraging the benefits of a training investment are!

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The point is this. 
The challenges outlined here should get you thinking. Training is often seen at best as a necessary distraction and at worst as a waste of time and money. The reality is that people need to be developed if your business is to be developed. Part of the challenge of leading people is to increase potential and remove blocks:

Performance = potential - blockages

Only by making your training commitment and implementation strategy outstanding, will you make your commercial success outstanding.

Isn't it time to start working on your business and team as well as working in it?