04/ 03/ 2002
It was a product distributor who taught Janice Sellner, owner of a tanning and exercise salon, how much she didn't know about her business. When Sellner purchased the salon, it had just one tanning bed since the primary focus was on exercise and toning. Even so, tanning intrigued her, an interest fueled by the lotion distributor who spent a lot of time educating her on his products and how they worked. In today's Workshop, Pamela Mills-Senn discusses the effectiveness of employee training and education for businesses.
"He made me realize that I wanted to learn more about indoor tanning and how to better answer my customer's questions," Sellner explains. Because she realized this education had to involve her employees as well, she and her staff undertook this odyssey together. Now, largely as a result of her emphasis on employee training and continuing education, Sellner has expanded to four tanning units and plans to add more. In addition, the revenue generated by tanning has grown as well. According to her, product sales have more than tripled since she began staff training in earnest, and her customer base has followed suit. "I truly believe the reason why my business is growing is because I have taken the time to educate my employees, and because the other salons in the area do not," she concluded.
It's difficult to imagine any business that would not benefit from employee training and education. For some industries, such as high-tech or medical, this is an obvious must. For others the need may be less apparent, but is still just as acute. If you own a business that operates in any industry marked by product innovation and change, or if your staff interacts with the public (especially if they sell to the public) an ongoing program of employee training and education can give you the competitive edge.
For one thing, an educated staff is a more loyal staff, and in this current job climate, where many positions go begging, reducing turnover gives you a distinct advantage. Although some employees may not want to put the effort into training (a great way to weed out the slackers) others clearly value the investment their employer is making in them.
Having a trained and competent staff also frees up your time for more important, business building activities. "If you don't stress education, you'll probably have to be at your business around the clock to keep an eye on things," Sellner says. "Plus, a lack of education creates either indifferent employees, or ones who run to you with a million questions."
Perhaps most important, educating employees is just plain fairness to your customers, who depend upon you to serve them well. If you're planning to open a business, be prepared to invest in education. It helps to keep employees feeling motivated and confident, and gives your customers a reason to comeback. The following tips may help you make the process of staff education more satisfying and successful:
- Determine the need. Is it sales training and merchandising? Customer service? Product knowledge? This also requires that you know your staff's level of expertise and where they feel they need the most help.
- Understand that once is not enough: repetition is the key to learning. Look at education as a continuous effort that requires your ongoing support. Employees will not immediately catch on, so don't expect this.
- Hold mandatory staff meetings to review old material and to go over new information. Don't hold these meetings less than quarterly (weekly or monthly is even better).
- Put it in writing. Some owners, especially if their business involves sales, will create "scripts" detailing how to sell product and approach customers and give these to every employee for easy reference.
- Read through trade and other related publications, picking out relevant articles.Pass these along for your staff to read. Let them know they'll be expected to discuss them with you.
- Involving as many of the senses as possible enhances both learning and retention, which is why video training, because it delivers the message both visually and aurally, can be especially effective. All types of video training, from industry-specific to those covering general topics such as telephone or reception skills are available. Discuss these during staff meetings.
- Tie training into an employee's larger goals. For many, depending upon your type of business, working for you may just be a whistle stop on their way to something else. But this doesn't mean they won't benefit down the road from the training you're offering them today. When employees realize that certain skills, such as sales training for example, can help them achieve their goals, the training becomes more meaningful to them.
- Keep the information and tips coming, especially to younger employees who may need frequent reinforcement to stay motivated.
- Whenever possible, take employees to trade shows and seminars where they can not only attend classes but can also network with others in the industry.
