Back to school – why we should never stop learning in business
After the long school summer holidays, it’s back to school for the kids this week. Which got me thinking… At what point do we stop considering education as a priority in our adult lives?
Just because we’ve got to where we want to be in our careers, perhaps having started a business or worked our way up to the top of one, does that mean we can stop learning?
Of course, most of us would agree that every day is a school day and there’s always something to be learnt. But when was the last time you made a choice to try and acquire new knowledge in your work life or undertook some form of formal training?
There are many reasons why training and learning make good business sense. Here are just a few…
Improve efficiency
If you’ve never made the effort to learn how to do something properly, it’s likely that you’ll be blundering around, spending much longer than required trying to get the desired outcome. Finding the time to upskill yourself in systems or processes may seem impossible, but if it’ll save you time in the long run, it’s well worth doing.
Empower staff
There are always tasks within a business that require a level of technical competency – whether it’s knowing how the telephone system works, how to fix the coffee machine or being the office first aider. By selecting members of staff to train up in areas of technical competence, you can thereafter delegate responsibility to them. This not only removes some responsibility from your shoulders, it also has the effect of empowering the individuals concerned.
Gain engagement
There’s a lot to be said for having an engaged workforce, as we discuss in our previous blog on this topic. One of the ways to gain better engagement from your employees is to make them feel valued – something that is often cited as coming out upskilling or training exercises.
Get the most out of your team
Education can take many forms, some of which are less obvious than others. An example of this is a staff assessment exercise – getting to know your staff and their styles and preferences to working better. Using methods such as psychometric profiling, you can learn more about your team with the aim of ensuring they are best placed to be able to deliver the best results. Round pegs in square holes and all that!
If you like the sound of the above, in particular if you’d like to know more about selecting or developing staff via psychometric profiling, we’d be happy to chat this through and discuss how we can help. Feel free to drop us a line!
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