Every job will involve some level of staff training and development, and typically training is given at the start of new employment. All new recruits to any team will need some form of initial training. It may be that full training is required, for example for industry novices or apprentices, or perhaps experienced, yet new, employees just need to be shown the ropes.
However, after this initial training, further training and development can be forgotten. Workload pressure takes over, and staff training becomes less and less of a priority. Whilst there are many advantages and disadvantages to staff training, at Asset Wisdom we strongly believe ongoing development is highly necessary for any successful business.
The disadvantages of training:
Time
Unfortunately, training staff takes a lot of time. This time is usually taken out of a working day, which could affect the work and productivity levels. Depending on how many people you are training, it may affect work progress. If you are training a full team for a full day, this is a full loss of business for that day. This can be very costly for the company not just financially but also in terms of productivity.
Cost
Although in-house training is often free, sometimes advanced training is required: this often comes at a cost. External training providers and advanced courses can sometimes be pricey and, though the training is worth the expense, the company may not have the budget to accommodate it.
The cost of training isn’t the only monetary issue. Often, when staff have been given training and progress in their roles by broadening their skills, they expect compensation for this achievement in the form of a pay rise. Again, this might be something the company, for financial reasons, is unable to do, which may deter employees away; they will go work for another company after inheriting the skills you taught them.
The advantages of training:
Quality of work
Training staff will improve the level and quality of their work. It teaches them new skills and broadens their understanding so they can produce better results. You can teach them new skills or simply develop their current ones to improve their work: these could be little things, like having a better knowledge of services or products.
Frees up others time
Training staff will allow them to become more independent in the workplace. In turn, this will free up the time of managers and other members of staff. Of course, this will increase productivity levels across the board, meaning more work is being produced.
Motivation
Training your staff will give them great motivation to do their job well. They will feel valued and appreciate that you have taken the time to train them and improve their skills. This should give them an incentive and provide them with great motivation to carry out their job to the best of their ability, to say ‘thank you’ for the training.
Help build relationships
Training does not have to be done externally; sometimes, internal training works just as well, if not even better. This will not only show the trainees how to perform a task the way the company likes, it will help build good team relationships. Training involves a lot of teamwork and one-on-one time together, which is a great way to learn to work and get to know fellow staff members. A happy team that get along will produce a brilliant working atmosphere.
There are many other benefits to training your staff. Evidently, we believe that the pros far outweigh the cons of investing in training programmes and resources for your team. The financial outgoings and time taken have the potential to show a great return on investment due to a workforce with renewed motivation, new skills, and strengthened morale. As such a crucial factor in staff development, training should be a fundamental requirement for all businesses.
