Not Back to School: Why learning at work holds the key to success

Whilst forward thinking businesses continue to recognise the importance of enhancing skills and developing their people, for many, the ability to draw on external training has been severely curtailed.

So what have been the implications for small businesses and their employees? Well, many companies are successfully maintaining strong staff development programmes without relying on externally-delivered training.

Whilst it might be easy to let skills development slip onto the back-burner in such a challenging economic environment, an encouraging number of small and mid-sized businesses recognise that continuing to invest in skills is that it’s not a ‘soft’ option or a ‘nice to have’. It can have a major impact on business success and merits genuine focus and commitment from business leaders. Indeed, recent research from Cranfield School of Management found that working with Investors in People to improve people management and development inspires an effective learning environment, which in turn helps to improve business performance.

To make it worthwhile, investment in skills should always be linked to business objectives. What are the core capabilities that all employees need to drive the business forward? For some it might be great sales skills, client management capabilities or technical expertise that can drive product design and innovation. Once the required skill-set has been identified, businesses then need to understand where these skills already exist, where they need to be strengthened or even developed from scratch. Where significant skills gaps exist, it can be tempting to turn to the external recruitment market. Bringing in talent from outside can be hugely beneficial. But many businesses miss a trick by failing to develop talent that is already in the building.

Using your own people to coach and train co-workers requires careful planning and investment of time. This is inevitably challenging for smaller businesses which face considerable time and resource pressures. However, the rewards are fantastic and properly supported it is very cost efficient, helping to reduce both external training and recruitment costs.

Tasking employees with the responsibility of delivering training to their colleagues can be hugely empowering and fosters new skills for both those delivering and receiving the training.

Developing such a programme in-house also means that it is totally tailored to the needs of the business and individual employees, both in terms of content and style of delivery. Whilst some companies might develop structured courses, others may prefer a more informal approach. For some the hands-on approach will work best – for example a half day of job shadowing. Others may want to take advantage of new, social networking tools to enable peer-to-peer knowledge exchange. Creating a ‘training wiki’ can be a great way to encourage employees to share knowledge, tips and best practice. The key is to ensure that the type of training on offer appeals to employees, as this will deliver best results.

Growing business Portico provides corporate reception services to leading UK companies. Recently awarded Investors in People silver status, Portico is committed to providing all employees with a tailor-made learning and development plan that will help them reach their potential. This investment ensures Portico can deliver the leading service levels that will drive future success. As well as offering recognised NVQ qualifications, Portico provides in-house support such as leadership coaching, linked to Institute of Leadership and Management Standards, which enables it to take new recruits and develop them into great managers.

For businesses that want to improve their internal training and development in this way, drawing on external resources and perspectives is incredibly valuable. Talking to the people and organisations that know your organisation best – be that your bank, accountant, suppliers or indeed customers – will help to refine your view of how your business and its people need to develop. Remember, these people are business experts in their own right and may let you draw on their advice for free. You may also want to consider meeting with the local college to understand how they can help, for example through a qualification that supports your business plan.

It’s also important to remember that in order to create a genuine culture of internal learning and knowledge improvement, the experience needs to be a positive one for employees. Unfortunately, for too many people learning at school or at college was not particularly enjoyable. So making learning at work a rewarding and fulfilling experience is vital. And don’t forget to evaluate. Getting feedback from across the business – both the “trainers” and the “trainees” - will drive continuous improvement. This doesn’t have to be an arduous process. What’s really important is that business owners and managers keep talking to their employee to understand how they are developing. Regularly checking that training continues to link to business objectives will also help to ensure the best results.

Ultimately, you are making an investment in skills and people development and it’s important to measure the return on that investment. Get this right and not only will the bottom line look healthier but your workforce will be happier too.

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