Why Employee Training is Critical to your Company’s Success
Cathie Leimbach • October 26, 2021
Do you think your employees don’t do what they are supposed to do? If so, you aren’t alone. Wondering why? A research project with 29,000 managers uncovered that one of the primary reasons is they don’t know how to do their job.
Do you think you already have a training program in place? It may be ineffective - here are several reasons employees still don’t know what to do:
- The people training them don’t know how to train or how employees learn best.
- There is a lack of any evaluation to see if learning has occurred.
- Experienced employees are often assigned to train new employees without having the skills to teach effectively.
- Employees don’t have an opportunity to practice what they have learned before having to perform the new skill in real time.
Your employees are your most important asset. Investing in training leads to greater business growth and success. A recent Gallup study showed that workgroups that engaged in employee development, including training, saw a sales increase and profits double compared with workgroups that didn’t engage in training
A consistent and effective training program has the following additional benefits:
- Higher employee engagement
- Lower turnover
- Higher productivity and profitability
- Better task management because of improved skills
- Increased confidence in performing their responsibilities
- Standardized processes and procedures leading to less wasted time and effort
- Improved company culture by building on each employee’s strengths and providing opportunities for growth and promotion
- Reduction of the need for constant supervision because each employee is equipped with the skills to succeed
Managers are key in the development of training approaches and programs. Here are the steps to make certain that the employees you supervise receive the training they need:
- Identify the skills and knowledge needed to competently perform each job in your work group. During this evaluation, elicit input and information from each employee doing the job.
- Identify available training programs for each of your employees.
- Assess each employee’s performance and identify gaps in skills and/or information.
- Ask each employee what skills they would like to develop to do their jobs better.
- Create and communicate an action plan for each employee outlining the training and desired outcomes.
One approach does not fit all employees. Best practices include:
- Targeting soft skills - soft skills help employees fully utilize their hard skills. Skills such as conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, time management, and working well under pressure are critical in the workplace. Employees with soft skills make for good team players and efficient managers.
- Personalizing the training – analyze what skills each employee needs to learn, acknowledge their current abilities, build on strengths, and identify their best approach to learning.
- Making training easy – remove obstacles by making sure employees are given time and support for learning. Use multiple platforms, including online and mobile, that make it easy to access the training.
- Allowing learning at their own pace – most employees prefer to learn when the need arises, making independent online learning a good choice for your workforce.
An investment in training will transform your workforce from “employees that don’t know what to do” to a well-honed team working efficiently and effectively to meet goals and business objectives.
In most organizations, the instinct is to add —more goals, more projects, more meetings. But as Juliet Funt, founder of the Juliet Funt Group, teaches in her Strategic Choice process, real leadership strength lies in deciding what to stop doing . Strategic Choice is the intentional narrowing of priorities—cutting away the clutter so teams can focus on what truly drives results. It’s a disciplined act of letting go: saying no to good ideas so there’s room for the great ones. Funt’s approach challenges leaders to pause, think, and create the mental and operational space their people need to perform at their best. By removing unnecessary tasks and misplaced effort, leaders make room for precision, innovation, and real thinking time. This isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing what matters most. When businesses adopt this mindset, they replace overwhelm with clarity and regain control of their time, energy, and outcomes. For small to mid-sized companies, embracing Strategic Choice can transform busyness into focus—and that focus is where sustainable growth begins. Want a quick visual overview? View Strategic Choice: Making Room for What Matters to see how this process helps leaders focus on what truly drives results.
Hey team leaders! Ever wonder why some companies soar while others stumble? Patrick Lencioni's bestseller, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team , nails it: workplace dysfunctions such as no trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoiding accountability, and ignoring results lead to mediocre performance at best. But here's the good news—smart leadership development changes the game! Start with building trust . Train leaders to open up and be vulnerable. Teams bond, ideas flow, and costly mistakes drop. Next, embrace healthy conflict . Teach team leaders to make it safe for team members to share the pros and cons of current or new ways of doing things. This helps everyone understand different perspectives. Then, drive commitment . Leaders who clarify goals, ask everyone to share their level of buy-in, and address their concerns get everyone bought in. People focus on high value work and get more done. . Hold folks accountable through coaching. Leaders learn to give kind, direct feedback by praising good work and calmly providing more training as needed. Turnover plummets and the quality and quantity of work improves. Finally, focus on results . Be clear on expectations. Keep score by monitoring progress weekly or daily. Acknowledge team wins when the goals are met. Winning sports teams pay attention to these Five Behaviors of a Team. How would a World Series winner have been determined this week without trust among the players and coaches, openness to tough coaching, the whole team working together, players focusing on their specific positions, and getting players around the bases to get the top score? Every workplace can benefit from these team behaviors as well. Lencioni's research proves it: Companies who prepare their leaders to overcome these 5 common workplace dysfunctions, improve the culture and see huge financial gains. Invest in your leaders today. Your bottom line will thank you! Click here to learn more about the painful cost of team dysfunction.