Investing in training for your employees can sometimes be hard to add to an already tight budget. It is difficult to predict whether an employee will stick around long enough for you to see any returns on your investment. However, studies have shown that when employees improve their skills through training it actually helps them have greater job satisfaction and more loyalty to the company.
Another struggle businesses face when attempting to offer training to their employees is finding time for the employees to complete the training offered. One way to get employee buy-in is to offer rewards for completing various courses. Offering rewards, especially if the training is expected to be done during off hours, is a great way to get employees excited about improving their skills.
If you are still reluctant to invest in training for your employees, there are a few areas of training that will pay off much more quickly than others. Soft skills like project management, leadership or communication are great, but hard skills that revolve around the technology you use on a daily basis can have huge benefits in the short term.
Security Training
From a technical standpoint, training your employees in the matters of cybersecurity can be some of the most important skills you can give them for your business. Not only will it help prevent costly security breaches, it will also help keep your entire network safer. Human firewall training can be as simple as a quick security tip every week, or as intense as a full course on how to prevent hacks. Whatever your course of action is, make sure you empower your employees to be vigilant about keeping your company’s sensitive data safe.
Office Product Training
There are so many things products like Microsoft Excel, Word, or Google Docs can do that most people only know how to use about 10% of the program. Many of these features that go un-used can actually give employees huge productivity gains. Getting advanced training on these not so hidden features can help employees become better at their jobs, and work more efficiently within these programs. They may even learn so much that they change entire processes within your company to make the whole place run more smoothly!
Specialized Software Training
Many companies run on specialized software. Whether it’s an accounting program, a CRM, or some other kind of business management tool, these programs are usually the lifeblood of the company. Much like becoming more familiar with the features available in Office programs, finding hidden tools and tricks within your businesses software platform can also help employees become more efficient and even better at their jobs. Many of these bigger business management tool vendors will have conferences or training programs you can attend. Obtaining your training directly from the source is one of the best ways to learn about all of the tools available within the platform.
Typing
Everyone uses computers as part of their job. Even those whose skills don’t necessarily require computer skills like construction need to use the computer during their workday. Especially for the employees that don’t use the computer often, typing skills are usually not seen as important. Improving typing from the hunt and peck method can actually help these employees complete the work they need to do on the computer quickly. Everyone can benefit from better typing skills.
If your employees are able to put the technology available to them to help them work more efficiently, your business will definitely benefit.