What is your training plan?

Recently I observed employee training at a major retailer.  Each of the employees are offered the same computer based training to include company overview, diversity, safety and general product information.  For employees working in specific departments or product categories additional DVD’s are provided.

Very high tech.  And this training covers everything an employee needs to know along with reinforcing the companies brand multiple times before the new sales person ever touches the sales floor or greets their first customer.

An HR dream.   And to some extent, this is a new employees dream too!  Lots of information and the learning is paced by the individual users.   What more could you ask for?

How about human interaction?  During a two day training session I only saw one manager visit their trainee in the computer lab.  The lab was also not conducive to learning.  It was hot and the break room is located right next to the lab.  Lots of traffic and you could hear the television and conversations in the break room.   The computers were placed on a table, side by side.  No provisions for the keyboard or mouse.  Both are right in front of the computer.  The monitors cannot be adjusted to the line of site for the individual and the text on the screen can be very small.  The chairs were more for looks than comfort, and with the average session lasting over 1.5 hours the back and neck of most of the trainees were noticeably sore.  It was not uncommon to see wiggly and moving and shifting in the chairs.  There was no comfortable or ergonomically correct position.

That was just the beginning.  Often new employees were walked in and out of this room and with no trainer in the room, the trainees were interrupted if any questions came up or if the equipment failed.  While a contact number was provided to each trainee you could see they hesitated to call for assistance and appear less than capable.

Further, the managers would come to borrow DVDs from the library of the training students due to an overbooking of the lab.   And managers who did not know the trainees would ask when a computer might be available for their new employee.  Starting to notice something?  Perhaps a breakdown in communication and the lack of a training plan?

Training your employees is the most important investment you can make in your business.   Your employees are an extension of your company’s brand.  Companies that fail to invest in employees endanger their own success. 

So where do you begin and what is the right way to train an new employee.  Start with the basics.  What do you need an employee to know?  There will always be the fundamentals:  who your company is, what your expectations are for every employee, the safety guidelines, and the highlights of your company handbook.  The next level of training will be specific to your company’s product set.  This can include service selling, consultative selling techniques, product training, and customer development.  The final level of training might include shadowing time.  Test should be administered at the end of each module and adjustments should be made to the individual or group as necessary.

Wondering where to begin?  Start with your current employees.  Ask them what they would like to be trained on further or what worked best when they started with the company. 

Work with your HR person, and if you do not have one, get one.  You cannot run the day to day of your business, sell the products, meet your customers needs, act as the accounting person and run your company’s HR department as well.  This is one area (along with accounting) where you should invest in either a full time employee or a part time contractor to assist you.  Along with accounting, this is an area where you get what you pay for, so choose wisely checking recommendations and looking for a program and individual that meet your business needs.

Finally, do not forget the employees who have been with you for awhile.  Ongoing professional development is essential to keep your employees up to date on the newest trends, offerings and product news.  It also increases employee motivation and productivity.

Learn from the mistakes of the retailer I visited.  Still don’t know where to start with your program or ready to get started today?  Give me a call.

Does your marketing POP?

In a brief chance meeting with the head of marketing for a local retail center, we were discussing the change in vendors at the center, and the revenue.  

 

As a marketing advisor I had been watching the change in the demographics of the retailers and the shoppers.  When I began to give her my view point as a consumer the conversation shifted.  We discussed not just the demographic concerns, but location of key elements (such as family restrooms, overall look and feel of the center). 

 

After the meeting I reflected on the conversation from the view point of a shopper and marketing advisor.   Many companies fail to market in what is known as “4-D” and simply keep their message flat.  When that message doesn’t work rather than add dimension for multiple view points, they simple switch to a different flat message.  It is vital for all companies big and small to look at how their message is being received.

 

Most people are familiar with 3-D most commonly in a movie format.  You know it will “pop-out” at you and have dimension.  Some theme parks have developed “4-D” movies where you not only see the movie, you experience it.  When you see water spray toward you on the screen you feel the spray or when you hear mice squeal, you “feel” them on your feet.  When you think about your company and brand is it one dimensional or do you pop?  And what do you customers “feel” when they interact with you?

To network or not to network.

It would seem that all that could be written on networking, social media, and the importance of expanding your “circle of influence” has been written.  That being as it may, I have to comment on the changes taking place in the world of communications and why you and your business could benefit from your participation.

Have you ever wondered how many emails are sent every day?  Statistics, extrapolations and counting by Radicati Group from August 2008 estimate that number of emails sent per day (in 2008) to be around 210 billion.   That is up from 2.5 billion in 2005. (That is with the big B).  That brings you to approximately 2 million emails a second per day – sent by 1.3 billion email users.  I am pretty sure that I alone generate a good thousand emails a day and I receive just as many. 

Now think blogs.  The numbers here are staggering.  There are over 4.1 million blogs on WordPress.  As I write this over 150,000 blogs were updated on WordPress just today.  It is estimated there are now 3.2 blogs for each living person (I alone have 2 and am thinking about a third.)

And let’s talk LinkedIn for a bit.  They post 25 million online registered professionals in over 150 countries.  That is up from 1.2 million in October of 2004.

What do all these numbers mean?  And why is this important?  Think about your business.  Has there ever been a time when you did not need new work to “fill the funnel”?  How about looking for new business partners and expanding your services?

The number one question I get asked about joining online networking communities and social media is how much does this cost and how much of my time?  I must admit that I am a networking believer and I spend about 4 hours a day on multiple sites (Plaxo, LinkedIn, Namyz, Facebook) and I invest about $40 a month on upgraded memberships.  Does this pay off?  Yes.  You get what you pay for.  If you are ready to open your network to new people the upgraded memberships can get you lists, demographics and additional sorting and posting rights then I recommend the investments. 

The next question is what makes a great profile?  Look at the profiles you like the best and use those as templates.  A good picture is a must.  It can be a cross between a great individual or family picture and your professional headshot.  A business logo is also a good way to identify you and your company.  Just remember the most important rule of all: whatever you post to the internet is there forever.  If you are uploading quotes and pictures from the last office party take a close look at what you post before you post. 

Should you include a full resume or not?  Use the highlights.  If you are applying for work you can always send a full resume, but your profile should include the best highlights of your accomplishments.  Share accolades, awards and ask people to recommend you on sites where this is available.

The next step (and this is important) get off the computer.  Join local groups that allow you to network within your local community.  SBA and Chamber groups are a good start.  I recommend BNI.  There are investments to be made in some groups, but again the networking can bring you one good customer and you have paid yourself back.  Why the human interaction?  Networking is not something you can do in a bubble.  Networking by nature is an interactive exchange between live beings.  I even schedule calls with my online contacts vs carrying all conversations in email.  The best relationships will come from those you invest your time and personality in.

A mentor of mine reminds me often when networking to be “interested and interesting.”

25 million people worldwide are just the beginning of what is ahead of social communities of the future.  Can you afford not to participate?

When you have more money than sense.

I have to admit I watch a lot of television.  As a result, I see a lot of commercials.  To be fair, I watch with the eyes in the back of my head and only turn around for the commercials that attract my attention.  Some of my favorites are the Mac and PC commercials.  Different, funny, amusing, and lighthearted these commercials offer the viewer something different than the loud in your face selling we all tune out.  In fact I will admit to turning up the volume to catch the latest Apple commercial.

So why would Bill Gates offer a commercial that has nothing to do with nothing and include the star of the show about nothing Jerry Seinfeld.  This commercial is amusing and the first time you sorta smile, but then you wonder what the purpose is.  Did Bill Gates retire to build a PC that we can eat and will taste like chocolate cake?   (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/)

And was this commercial designed for any purpose other than to make us talk about it and scratch our heads?  I am confused.  I know the Apple commercial is telling me that Mac’s are more reliable and easier to use than PC’s and that they will run Windows (resolving a common misperception).  But this ad shows me two men in a shoe store – and a discount store at that.

And then we are to understand that even Jerry’s musings on shoes and showers and showering in your clothes is even confusing to Bill. 

But the need for an edible computer?  C’mon.  As if they are not disposable enough already?  I think, and I could be wrong here, that the purpose of the commercial was to tell us that every new and cool thing started on a PC.  If that is the purpose then it is not made clear (how many people really take the time to think about a commercial and pull it apart like this?).  While I may be the target audience, this message and the expense Microsoft put into it was wasted. 

Sometimes people and businesses have more dollars than sense.