It’s a training problem!

There is a common phrase used by Organizational Development and Human Resources professionals when identifying problems in the growth of an organization or company: “It’s a training problem.” The same phrase can be applied to almost any group of human beings working together to achieve a common goal. When progress stalls and roadblocks appear, you can retrace your movement path and discover that things started to go wrong when someone wasn’t trained properly.

Have you ever experienced any of the following situations?

Fast Food Nightmare:

You stop at a fast food restaurant through the window and a voice, with a foreign accent, quickly spits out some inaudible words that you assume are probably similar to “Can I take your order?”

The waitress from hell:

After sitting for thirty minutes at a local restaurant, a waitress finally walks up to your table and asks if you want to place an order. When you politely explain that you’re frustrated because you’ve been waiting thirty minutes, she condescendingly replies with a sigh, “The kitchen is overcrowded and I just had a quinceañera in the other room.”

Ignorant receptionist:

You miss a long-awaited call from the service person you’ve been trying to contact about a product you purchased that isn’t working properly. When she calls the person back, a receptionist says that the person is not in and that she should try again later. The receptionist isn’t sure when the best time would be and, no, the person she’s looking for doesn’t have voice mail.

Travel trauma:

After being on the road for twelve hours, you arrive at the hotel where you have a reservation for the night. The entry time is published at 15:30. You arrive at 4:30 pm but the room is not ready. You are politely advised to check back in an hour or so to see if the room is available. The clerk has no idea what he should do with “kill time” and cannot guarantee that the room will be ready in an hour.

Chaos in the office:

You work in an office and you have a lot of administrative tasks that bog you down. There is an administrative assistant working ten feet from your desk who is supposed to offer support to your team. Their understanding of “support” and yours differ. It seems that some members of your team get more support from this type than others. You express unfairness in support of your boss, who sees the conflict as “personality differences.” He just wants the damn copies of him to be made on time.

All of the above cases show poor service and mismanagement; in some cases “abuse”, but certainly all could be corrected by proper training. Therefore, the root of these corporate and retail nightmares are addressed as “training issues.”

“Training” is such a soft word. The mere mention of the word conjures up visions of boring classroom environments, unenthusiastic training instructors, and wasting time with concepts that common sense has already taught you and sticking you down your throat. Few people are excited about training.

My husband, who is an ironworker, recently completed an OSCA-mandated training that instructed all the workers on his team in the safe procedures for operating a forklift. One of the most crucial training points was “Never leave the driver’s seat of the forklift while the engine is running and the forklift is in gear.” Hey!

Despite the negative karma training has earned in the corporate world, and the hype it was accorded during the dot-com boom, the simple truth is that training is not simply about providing information on techniques and skills. It also communicates the expectations and requirements of the job. People should be told what is expected of them in clear terms, and conveying that expectation is part of the training process. Training lays the foundation for affirming performance and correcting mistakes.

In all of the above examples, the “unskilled” employee has become emotionally disconnected from the person he is supposed to serve. They each have personal matters first on their minds that override their will to properly serve others. If I had to know your side of the story, I would hear some of the following responses:

“Everything moves so fast around here. It’s all I can do to keep up. Nobody really tells me what to do; they just tell me if I’m doing something wrong.”

“I could do my job if those I depend on could do theirs.”

“I’m tired of taking hits for poor performance from my superiors.”

“No one ever told me exactly what my job is. I guess they think I’ll figure it out. What I know of my job prospects has mostly been communicated by others telling me what I’m doing wrong. It’s each for himself.” here”

Bad service is not due to bad employees, but due to bad employers.

The bottom line is that lack of service = lack of growth, lack of productivity, lack of profit. Your company’s lack of service will pay a heavy price in the world of your competitors. You’ll have to continually compensate with special promotions, additional advertising, more hires, and giveaways to disgruntled customers. Good service is linked to happy and valued employees who provide the service. Training is a crucial tool in helping employees feel valued in the work environment.

How do you use the training to solve the problems mentioned above? It’s about having a training program established and maintained as a priority. Don’t fall into the category of “training out of desperation” and only offer training when you have to put out a fire. Remember that training can be a way to provide attention and recognition to your employees. If done well, they will appreciate it and feel affirmed.

Always have some type of training scheduled. It can be as infrequent as once a quarter or as often as once a week. You can do it in house or outsource it. Having scheduled training opportunities will prevent the development of service issues that will cost you a lot of time in the long run.

New rental orientation

The most important training you will have with an employee will be when they first join. Here is an example of training to implement for new hires.

1. As a company policy, make sure you have specific, written job descriptions for each employee, and a system in place for ongoing updates. Job descriptions should focus on competencies rather than functions.

2. Develop an Orientation Training Program for each new employee who joins. The program can last from half a day to a week, but must include the following:

• Presentation to the rest of the staff.
• Thorough review of the job description and company policies with the direct report, clearly establishing expectations and recognition and correction processes. Allow time for questions and answers.
• Tour of the site: where are the bathrooms, the kitchen, the parking spaces, the emergency exit, etc. Employee paperwork: W4, benefit forms, exemptions, copy of Personnel Regulations and job description, etc.
• The new hire should be given a full briefing on what the organization does, its goals, its vision, who it serves, and the role of the new hire’s position in the grand scheme of things.
• If possible, assign another staff member to be on call for questions that come up from the new employee.
• Be nice and have that staff member or yourself take the new hire out to lunch on their first day.
• Host a 30-day review (mark it on your calendar) where you’ll assess the new hire’s performance and ask about their job-related feelings and frustrations. NOTE: Rescheduling or canceling this 30-day review will send that employee a clear message about the priority you place on their training and development. This meeting is crucial for the new addition and they anticipate it with great expectation.

A training program, in addition to being a way to continuously provide the necessary information to your employees, is also one of the most effective methods to obtain information on how to improve the company’s infrastructure. It is a safe environment for workers to share thoughts, feelings and ideas about how to improve the company. Additionally, training, when done right, affirms employees, helps them develop a sense of loyalty to the company, reduces turnover, and creates a great opportunity to build consensus.

Training and development is an investment, not a cost.

Fortune 500 lists of top companies, best small businesses, best companies to work for, and best bosses have repeatedly shown an interest in employee satisfaction as well as training and development. Edward Jones, a stockbroker from St. Louis, MO, was rated #1 for the second year in a row on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.”

According to Fortune, it spends 3.8% of its payroll on training, averaging 146 hours per employee, with new brokers earning four times that amount. When asked why he spends so much on training, managing partner John Bachmann replied, “To grow, you have to train or you get stuck in the present.” An administrative assistant to Edward Jones was quoted by a Fortune reporter as saying, “I have never worked for a company that has so many satisfied employees.” (#)

A training program is an ideal starting point for taking steps to decrease turnover, improve employee performance, and build loyalty. It is also a solid foundation for developing affective communication within the company or organization. If you don’t currently have an established training program, start with an orientation training program or look for training opportunities at your local university or community college. Start a training library by requesting books, videos, and periodicals that address the competencies you want to develop in your staff. Starting or improving a training program shows employees that you care.

#. Fortune Magazine, January 20, 2003 Issue: Summary on Edward Jones – Ann Harrington