I bet that last one, Cyber Security, caught you off-guard. More on that in a minute!
We are all busy people. For many of us, fitting all our work into any given day feels like a massive challenge. Against this backdrop, the notion of taking time away from our “jobs” for training seems completely impossible.
I put “jobs” in quotes because to consider training as something apart from our job equates to deciding to work less effectively. Among other things, the right training program helps to replace reactiveness with proactiveness by helping staff understand the what’s and why’s behind their work. Let’s examine some of the ways training benefits your organization.
Training shortens the learning curve for new technology
Perhaps it’s a new CRM, a migration to Office 365, or a Surface Pro – training leverages the experience of someone who’s familiar with the features, shortcuts, limitations, and workarounds necessary to most effectively take advantage of the new product and brings your team up to speed quickly.
Thirty minutes figuring out how to attach an email to a contact in your CRM (without training) becomes something a user knows how to do instantly. Multiply that 30 minutes by 200 users within the organization and that equals over two weeks of lost productivity, which could have been saved by three minutes of an hour long training, for example. Think of what the remaining 57 minutes of training will save!
Training protects your workforce and company property
While the new technology scenario provides an obvious context for training, protection training offers a value that could be in the hundreds of thousands—even millions of dollars.
Last week, I visited a client to deliver an end-user security training lunch-and-learn. One of the things we discussed was email phishing threats and how to recognize them. Just a week later, I received an email from one of their users who had received an email allegedly from their President asking her to process a wire transfer. The style of the email didn’t seem right, though, and hovering over the reply-to address showed a slightly different domain than theirs.
The training the week before saved them from a potentially costly mistake. Investing in training that helps avert such mistakes/exploits and heightens awareness around data protection, security, and file sharing best practices will pay for itself a hundred times over.
Training develops well-rounded, effective employees
On one hand, training saves money by protecting your business; on the other hand, it saves money and results in happier customers by creating employees who not only complete their jobs but excel at them.
A robust training program increases the number of tools in employees’ metaphorical toolboxes and their ability to use them. Over time, a training program nurtures employees to be comfortable approaching their jobs from a number of different angles and are better equipped to approach their tasks strategically.
Furthermore, employee training creates stickiness for your workforce. They know that you value and invest in them. They have confidence in their ability to do their jobs, and know that as the world changes, you will continue to support their learning.
What value do you place on developing solid employees loyal to you and your mission?
These 3 reasons just scratch the surface of the importance of training to organizations seeking to more proactively manage their businesses. Avoiding costly mistakes, savings accrued by knowing how to accomplish tasks, and increased employee retention all stem from just a small monthly investment in training.
Coretelligent offers a number of training options from standalone training sessions to managed partnerships with webinars and monthly or quarterly on-site customized sessions. Contact us and let us help you develop a training plan for your business.
