Using training how you can turn ordinary into extraordinary? Part #2

Having in mind that employee’s training is worth the investment, what to do next? 

You need to develop a training plan, with options for customization to match situations faced by your team members. The flexibility as well, allows you to better match the persons’ skills, experience and even the gaps among team members.  

Conventional or technology–based training, this is your choice, but the training solutions you will use has to keep the pace with changing market. When I say, changing I also include the fact that HR people and teams have front of them employees, colleagues with changing expectations, in phase with their lives and living styles. That’s maybe why, I naturally tend to use the word ‘learning’ over ‘training’… an interesting perspective to have 🙂

The leverage, companies have with an inspiring learning strategy can’t be neglected, there are so great benefits. Often underestimated, your asset is your people, and they have to be at the centre of your business strategy and not just a cost in your P&L. I know what you think when reading that but believe me I have met and discussed with many HR directors and CEOs in different industries. And unfortunately, many of them considered really HR and even employee’s fluctuations as simple figures at the bottom of their P&L. Once, I met the ‘frustrated’ HR director of a company with 7500 employees in CEE and 35% employee fluctuation who clearly said: ‘we have it booked in our P&L, the board take it as cost, but not as an issue to solve! ‘…. This is a reality, and this one was only few years ago.  

Imagine the cost of employee’s fluctuation!  

With one fewer worker: 

• Your company’s productivity slips.  
• Sales decline.  
• Your current staff members are required to work more hours.  
• Morale may suffer.  
• To find a replacement, you spend time screening and interviewing applicants.  
• Once you hire someone, you need to train that person.  

The cost of staff turnover adds up. Figures vary, but that is a heavy price to pay for not training your employees. 

Therefore, it is a key and priority focus to make sure your employees understand your company promise and visions. Often described as the company ‘WHY’. This concept developed by Simon Sinek was inspiring any strategies from HR, PR and sales we implemented in our company. I have to say that it helps to clarify why you do what you do, why employees work for you, and more than everything: it fosters a common and spontaneous team engagement for the benefit of the company. 

A book I highly recommend reading.

This concept, when used to explain the company DNA, core values, visions and business approach during talent onboarding sessions will decrease your fluctuation of the first hiring months. Because the ones who stay are the ones who match your company ‘WHY. 

With that approach which helps employees to better engage in the same direction you still need to be sure that every employee understands what their role is about. Mainly what their role is in every situation, every encounter, and every action making the company life. Your learning strategy will ensure your employees know how to deal with your targets whatever they are i.e. your company global vision, sales figures, product development, brand recognition etc… 

This is the typical example of a sales strategy between the companies which are able to increase concretely their sales after implement learning strategy and the others with minor or no success at all. 

Yes, of course the working environment, market pace, products or services have to be taken into account, but PEOPLE make the differences.  

So, you can help your sales team to build higher confidence in reaching higher expectations with short learning sessions, structured (see our blog Don’t be a bot! – here).  But keep in mind that learning is not about books memorization; it’s about listening to your clients, using complaints to train on issues resolution and delivering outstanding service in every encounter. Therefore, the key is how your employee understand and how they could exceed your client’s expectations, so you truly create the best client’s experience. 

For that when creating your micro-learning sessions. 

• Be the company ecosystem keeper and driver. It means your message content, the way you build your questions and speeches need to reflect your company core values, DNA, visions (explained above with the ‘WHY concept’). All that is possible thanks the technology–based learning solutions. 
• Help your employees to understand at first what your client’s expectations are.  
• Create experience. By themselves, employees can learn how to exceed client’s expectations and that is possible. Using communication methods, simulation-based scenario, your employees will experience to go out of their comfort zone, better manage their stress to face client’s meeting/calls. What a frustration to hear from salespersons that your client hasn’t answer to their emails. ‘Hey! Here, why you haven’t called the client? ‘ Any recalls of such experience?  
• Indirectly and naturally, they will learn how to exceed your client’s expectations, thus you truly create the best experience for them 
• Encourage your employees to resolve issue on the spot when possible. By experience, we all know that employees who are empowered are able to take action, to respond confidently and quickly to complaints or concerns (client, supplier or from team members) 
• With better understanding of client typologies, make your employee experience client’s side of business life. Include what their typical day is like, how and why they enter into discussion with your company, the business barriers they face and the reasons why they would choose your competition. 
• In addition to understand how to communicate, design learning sessions on listening and caring. The complaint diminishes in importance when someone listens, cares about the details and identifies an agreed upon plan of action. Simple to create role plays between your employees with the avatars of your eLearning solutions. 
• Show your employee that caring means as well to follow-up with your clients. You can include that as the last part of a learning session related to ‘problem solved’. Unfortunately, client follow-up is often associated by employees as ‘time consuming for nothing’.  Learning and experience will hopefully show them that, follow-up will help them to build a trustworthy client relationship.  
• Use lifelike descriptions in learning sessions, using different immerse environment, creating situations and even making the avatar acting with different personality types. 

Nowadays thanks to what technology offers the best in learning solutions, we are facing so great opportunities to make better, to improve and create employee’s true learning experience. 

All the best! 

Christophe Beaujard