Investing in your people involves more than running training workshops but offers great rewards.

You’ll see results

Businesses regularly invest in systems, processes, hardware, and software, but investment in people development is not always as consistent. There is often a long time between drinks.  We all need to update our skills to be at our best, but not all people development programs deliver long-term results.

Investing in people can be a little trickier than organising system upgrades. Many businesses run one-off programs that promise big results – but when people return to their day-to-day work activities, they quickly forget what happened in the training room. The key is to make sure that you are investing in programs and systems that support on-the-job follow-up to embed the learning from the training room.

People development programs that include on-the-job training and coaching give businesses the biggest returns. Development that happens on-the-job is much more likely to be effective – people are more inclined to engage in it, to put into practice the technical and behavioural skills they pick up and therefore more likely to retain it.

Companies that offer training alone may experience a short-term improvement in productivity but when they combine training with on-the-job coaching the improvement can be sustained for longer and increase return on investment.

Your people are striving to be their best – support them to be their best

People want to engage in development programs that help them get better at what they do. It shouldn’t be a surprise that people enjoy kicking goals and improving.

Development programs that provide genuine coaching can drive ongoing positive change for your business and for your staff. The key to achieving a situation where everyone benefits is to make sure that the people development program you offer actually supports people to meet your organisation’s goals – and their personal goals too.

Be what you say you are

Is your business’s mission to provide great customer service? Perhaps your values are about building a strong culture? Do you aim to inspire excellence?

To embody your brand values, you need to do what you say you do and be what you say you are. People development programs offers you the opportunity to embody your values.

Organisations that say they take pride in their culture need to show employees how they build and maintain that culture. Investing in people development that is focused on the workplace will improve employee engagement and show your people that you want to invest in them.

And by creating a coaching culture you’ll be building specific capabilities across your workforce. On-the-job coaching helps to build specific behaviours that lead to, for example, great customer service.

Reduce risk

Training and coaching will build the capability of your people while helping to build a strong culture. Capability and culture are two key factors that can help your business to mitigate the risks associated with under-performance and conduct.

By building a culture based on excellence, collaboration, and continual learning you will be creating a culture of integrity. Employees will be less likely to see compliance as a tick-the-box activity and instead adopt a mindset that puts the organisation’s values front and centre.

Focus on continual development not yearly reviews

Employees that receive consistent coaching from their managers report that it’s more effective than other performance management systems. While on-the-job coaching may require more time investment from managers, the benefits are worth it and deliver results you just don’t get with a traditional performance review.  Read why traditional performance management fails.

What do you need to do to invest in your staff? 

1. Focus on where it matters – at the workplace. Invest in systems, like YakTrak’s, that support on-the-job development.
2. Work sustainably – set up sustainable goals to deliver sustainable results. Set achievable goals to track, reward and adjust continuously.
3. Don’t forget the coaches – make sure your managers and team leaders have the tools that empower them to be great coaches for their staff.
4. Monitor your progress – by tracking and measuring results you’ll be able to celebrate your wins and focus on the areas that need improvement.
5. Set up a rhythm – it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work activities. Ensure you set up a consistent cadence of goal setting to keep your people development on track.

Read more about our employee development solution or get in touch with us today to find out how we can help transform your performance development program.

Image from Christina Wocintechchat via Unsplash