Why training matters

How training can increase productivity, reduce costs and mitigate legal exposure.

In the next decade training will be the make or break for your business. As older workers are transitioning out of work, more young workers are entering the workforce.

This can present a dilemma for many businesses as knowledge and experience exits a business. This is where training is valuable to help business attain greater productivity, reduce costs and mitigate legal exposure.

Too often employers hold the view that providing training to workers leads to them leaving. But having an undertrained workforce leads only to negatives, for them and your business.

Getting training right

Getting training right is crucial to the performance of teams, especially since many business units now have a variety of expertise. Therefore, one method of training may not be enough to develop successful and efficient teams.

Using a variety of engaging training methods such as the use of both informal and formal practices, businesses can keep and retain staff with accurate and current knowledge.

Such knowledge is important in practice as staff leave and handovers are taken place, the information passed will continue to be accurate. Therefore, businesses will discover more of a flow to their business processes at such adverse times.

The flow of information reduces the need to develop bigger and greater training packages. Most workers can retain a higher level of information when they have been trained directly by another staff member.

This transfer of knowledge from previous staff will help accelerate employee learning.  However, this is not to say that training systems are useless. These systems are important to maintain the knowledge amongst workers and refine their skills during the duration of their employment.

Organisations who do not ensure that training, and therefore greater and deeper levels of skill, is transferred will face a real problem with the possible loss of clients. Effective transitioning of training will allow business to implement a pipeline of talent for years to come.

Remote workers

Within the cleaning and hygiene industry, many workers work in complex environments and often work autonomously. Properly training remote workers will enable such staff to ensure they develop safe working practices, resulting in reduced rates of injuries.

Businesses who continue to support and consistently train staff on safe working practices will be able to mitigate their legal exposure and reduce risks that are associated with running a business.

Further, well-trained staff will require less supervision and more trust can be gained to carry out their assigned duties. In addition, employees will feel valued and a sense of security that the business they work for is investing in their safety.

Therefore, from a health and safety perspective, it is suggested that businesses give access to training resources to all employees, and to enable a learning pathway throughout their employment.

Benefits of aligning training with business goals

Training should align with the strategic goals of the business. For example, within the cleaning industry there have been pushes for more sustainable products and services, with more and more businesses viewing sustainability as a strategic goal to create a more versatile and profitable company into the future.

Therefore, training staff of the benefits of eliminating waste or appropriate methods of disposal can encourage staff to reduce unnecessary waste and be more sustainable. By reducing the waste output, a business can pass these cost reductions to clients who will continue to appreciate the service.

Getting staff to opt into this sort of change through appropriate training can be a dynamic way to improve business productivity and ease future challenges which may not exist today.

Training improves workplace culture

By having appropriate training programs your business will positively contribute towards workplace culture.

For the cleaning industry, employee engagement in training programs can create a culture of safety first, which can result in fewer short cuts been taken to complete tasks and enable a consistent approach to work.

The development of staff will create more knowledgeable staff who are more inclined to be satisfied in the work they do, and create value to the business, with fewer employee’s exiting your business.

Ultimately, training improves job satisfaction, increases productivity and mitigates legal exposure for any business. Further, business can see improvement in performance, reduce customer complaints and see a reduction in employee turnover.

Rushantha Jayaweera is workplace relations adviser at Workforce Guardian 

This was first published in INCLEAN magazine 

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