Identify training needs
If you can't afford a consultant to come in and advise you on where training is most needed, ask the people who know best - your staff. Holding feedback sessions or setting up a comments box where staff can give their thoughts on the areas they would like to develop can be very effective. Far from lacking the expertise of managers and specialists, ground level staff will often be able to share knowledge and give fresh insight into working practices that may never have been considered at senior level.
Start a book club
Once training needs have been identified, a simple yet often overlooked option for addressing them is to purchase a library of books and introduce a book club. In the corporate environment, this would involve assigning a different business book to a different member of staff each month and asking them to give a presentation on the book's key points and how they can be applied to their working practices. This also gives staff the opportunity to work on their presentation skills without the need for formal training, so staff should be encouraged to feedback on each other's performance to ensure they learn from the experience.
Share areas of excellence
Of course, some members of staff will naturally have better skills in some areas than others and this is where peer-to-peer training can be effective. Most organisations have one or more person who is known for being a great sales person, organiser or problem solver, and while most managers will aim to put them in positions that best use those skills, few will look to have them actively pass those skills on to others.
Identifying and sharing areas of excellence involves having the best and brightest in your organisation perform short training sessions. This might apply not only to ‘hard skills' such as administration, but also ‘soft skills' such as behaviours and attitudes. For example, if staff morale is low, you might ask an employee with a naturally positive and proactive outlook to give a presentation to motivate and inspire fellow staff.
Get staff buy in
Internal training often lacks the pomp and novelty of third-party training, and some businesses find that, because of this it is tougher to win the enthusiasm of staff. Shaping training around staff needs is a great first step to winning staff over, but wherever possible steps should be taken to ensure training is enjoyable, interesting and rewarding. Keep all training sessions under 30 minutes and think about getting staff out of the office and into a more inspiring environment. This could be the park, the local cafe, or anywhere that draws staff away from their computer screens without costing the earth.
Alternatively, incentivise attendance by bringing coffee and muffins to every event, or give out a reward for carrying out a training session, such as a gift certificate for a local restaurant. This can make staff feel appreciated and should still work out very cheap on a cost-per-head basis.
Whatever route you choose to take to put low cost training in place, the key to success is in recognising the value each staff member can bring to the team.
Marc Hogan is communications skills expert and business coach. For more information visit www.marchoganlive.com
