| This article relates to the Training competency, | | | | lunch? Will it infringe on break time? |
| commonly evaluated in employee surveys. It | | | | The time came to enroll in the customer service |
| comments on the value of training to both the | | | | sessions, and one person from each department was |
| company and its workforce. The Training competency | | | | required to attend. Sessions would continue until all |
| investigates how your employees perceive the | | | | employees had completed the training. The sign up |
| available training opportunities and quality of training. | | | | sheet went around the office like a hot potato, and |
| Growing an organization's internal knowledge base is | | | | ended up with me. Oh well, I was curious. |
| crucial to the success of any business and ensuring a | | | | I was quite surprised. The facilitator was engaging, |
| growing knowledge base means investing in the | | | | energetic, and funny without going overboard on |
| training of your employees. A Gallup poll conducted in | | | | perkiness. I spent 20 hours that week with strange |
| 1998 reported that eight out of 10 employees said they | | | | people from other departments. Surely there was |
| would be more likely to stay with their present | | | | nothing I needed to learn about customer service - it |
| employer if they were offered more or better training. | | | | was after all, my occupation and I'd never received a |
| Specifically, the questions included in this competency | | | | derogatory comment. My telephone persona was |
| are written to measure the adequacy, availability, | | | | perfect. |
| content of training, and satisfaction with the delivery of | | | | Or so I thought. As we moved through the training |
| training within your organization. | | | | exercises as a group, I discovered that my listening |
| This short story, Training is in the Eye of the Beholder, | | | | skills needed work, I didn't pay enough attention to |
| is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales From the | | | | detail, and I was all too willing to hand off a difficult |
| Corporate Frontlines. It conveys the importance and | | | | customer to a supervisor rather than try to resolve the |
| value of corporate training programs to employees, as | | | | situation on my own. I learned to pay attention, to |
| well as the benefits companies enjoy when they put | | | | empathize, to really analyze a problem situation and |
| forth the extra effort and expense and provide | | | | build a plan to fix it. |
| high-quality training programs for the workforce. | | | | A few weeks after the training session, the diploma |
| Anonymous Submission: | | | | arrived in inter office mail. My coworkers teased. I just |
| Many of my coworkers complain about a lack of | | | | smiled. I remembered the sessions and the effect |
| employee training programs. They learn new | | | | they'd had on me, both personally and professionally. |
| procedures by trial and error, become irritated, and | | | | My advice to employees: don't refuse training |
| complain. After reorganization periods, many have | | | | programs - even when you think you're an expert. |
| found themselves with additional duties that they are | | | | You'll gain knowledge that remains with you forever. |
| only vaguely familiar with. After a few cursory | | | | To employers: provide as many training programs as |
| sessions with another employee (usually outgoing, and | | | | possible - seminars, courses, online products. If your |
| by that I don't mean friendly) they fend for themselves, | | | | employees resist, they'll be grateful later on, and your |
| and they complain. | | | | entire company will benefit. |
| But there are two sides to the coin. Whenever our | | | | © 2005 AlphaMeasure, Inc. - All Rights Reserved |
| company launches a large-scale training project, for | | | | This article may be reprinted, provided it is published in |
| example, our recent customer service group sessions, | | | | its entirety, includesthe author bio information, and all |
| they roll their eyes and moan. Oh no, that will eat up | | | | links remain active. |
| hours of our precious time. Will we be able to go to | | | | |