Well, this is a very strange thing for someone in the training biz to say. Let me explain…
For the last 20+ years I've seen many people hold a magical belief that if you train staff then something good will automatically happen.
But if people don't feel it – feel that training is really critical to their business — then they might treat it as something they should ask people to get to when they have time.
This kind of attitude can trickle down to employees who in turn won’t feel that the training will impact their performance and therefore not take it too seriously.
Management support for training is often overlooked. How much are you communicating the importance of training to your staff? Do you give them time for training? Do you give them the proper tools such as workstations and Internet connectivity to engage in training?
It’s Always Systems Thinking That Makes the Difference
I don't think trainers like myself have really done a very good job of explaining to people in a clear manner how training can be part of a system that leads to improved performance and business results.
And as my long-time associate Dana Doiron, PR and communications specialist, often told me: if people don't “get it,” it means I haven't explained it well enough, and I own the problem.
The diagram below was created by my business partner, Shawna Henderson, to illustrate the scope of our work in Blue House Energy. It’s something I've been wanting to see illustrated for at least 10 years—the system in which training exists. When you start paying attention to the system, and seeing how all this relates to performance and business results, you're driving performance and results, instead of just doing training.
As the diagram illustrates, solid Performance Management turns corporate strategy into tangible benefits, like improved profitability and customer satisfaction, and lower hiring costs. The key to achieving tangible benefits is training that addresses recruitment policies and management support along with skill building and knowledge base.
Oh, did I mention the importance of recruitment policies? Because regardless of training and management practices, if you don't hire the right people, everything goes downhill.
So, if someone isn't performing, you need to look at your recruitment policies and assess if this is related to the poor performance.
How’s Your Support System?
Other factors that affect job performance is how staff are treated in the back office and on the job site. Do management practices foster good communication and feedback? When people make mistakes on the job site are they criticized or do managers try to figure out why they have not been performing? Is mentoring available on the job site?
If these and other factors are off balance, then all the training in the world won’t make any difference and you are truly wasting your money.
But, training plus performance management can be a winning combination to help boost productivity and business success.
And performance management doesn’t have to be a cloudy world of confusing language and dense consulting contracts.
Blue House Energy has created a clear, step-by-step process that you can buy on our web site. This process comes out of my 20+ years of work in performance management with large and small organizations, so I know it works.
Take a look — I think it's pretty cool.
Blue House Energy is committed to helping companies drive performance and business results.
