Self-Devpt. Nuggets™

I got my very first paid job as a Trainee Sales Coordinator in early 1994. It was with an indigenous wine manufacturing company that used ripe paw paw fruits as raw materials for making its range of products.

The owner had retired from decades of working in a large brewing multinational.

I believe his exposure to organizational procedures taught him the importance of proper training for employees. This is because he made sure I was put through the entire production process, even as I went on with my sales training. And that experience proved valuable, to me, in doing my job – and also contributing to the team’s efforts.

Results-Focused Organizations Make Their Solutions Easy to Understand – and Use

Smart organizations today develop solutions that their target audiences can easily learn to use, by offering DIY (Do-It-Yourself) learning resources.

Think about anything you’ve ever learnt to use. Your new car, computer, smart phone etc. Most people find the user manual or guide that accompanies those items useful.

In many cases, the maker of an item ensures enough information is provided in an easy to understand manner. As a result, we find that today the DIY mentality has caught on in many parts.

And why not? The cost of paying for the provider to come down and give you a one-on-one induction on use of his/her product or service would be high.

In addition, s/he would be limited by the number of people who need such attention. Costs of operation would rise, and by the time that is transferred into the product or service fee, the item could become less affordable.

Learning Resources Work Best When Based on Standard Operating Procedures

But it’s not just for their buyers companies need to do this. Indeed, to turn out solutions that consistently meet market needs, companies also have to create similar conditions internally.

It does not matter if you deliver products or services to your market.

As long as you employ human beings, it is important to give them instructions on how to do it right, from the very beginning.

What steps do you take to get your product or service RIGHT FIRST TIME, EVERY TIME (like an old advert I recall used to say)?

Whatever they are, they will make up what is called your SOP or Standard Operating Procedure.

To ensure your company consistently gets it right, you need to ensure ALL members of your team understand – and conform to – your SOP.

Job based training and learning resources should therefore feature well in your internal operations. They are the vehicles through which the necessary “message” and knowledge will be transmitted to your employees – new or old –so they can master their jobs.

Also provide friendly learning resources/reference materials (e.g. workplace work instructions documents, training manuals etc) they can consult, if doubts arise, or unexpected situations develop.

All of these will make them more familiar with what they need to do over time.

From familiarity, confidence develops. And the confident state of mind drives away uncertainty – meaning the employee will act at work with minimal doubt. Consequently, fewer errors on the job will occur, and mastery will be achieved.

Improved volume and quality of work output by him/her, and others, will ultimately occur routinely!

To Summarize, the Above Described Process Will Result In The Sequence of Benefits Listed Below:

1. Elevated employee job-based confidence level, because they’ll often know exactly what to do, and how.

2. That will result in a significant reduction in unforced errors they commit while at work.

3. Which will make their workplace output (and the company’s) more predictable.

4. And all of the above will enable the company’s planning and decision making to be more profitable.