Investing in People

We all tend to look back at the previous year and try to find the things that did not work well for us in business as well as our personal lives. Starting each new year is a very important time for our businesses, because it sets the rhythm for the rest of the year and the pase we will be taking on. One of the things that most businesses overlook is the people that work for them and the potential in them. So today I will be talking about how important it is to invest in the people that work for you.

For every business the prime resource – the working capital – is people. Money matters, but the human beings who work there matter even more. If you want to take a pragmatic view of people, regard them as an investment. Every employee costs money to acquire and also to maintain and they should provide a return on that outlay. The more you invest in them the more their value increase as they become more effective in their jobs and capable of taking on greater responsibility.

So how can you as owner or manager contribute to effective training of your staff?

Determine the standards of performance required for each of the positions/jobs in your business.

Analyze the competences (knowledge and skills) relevant to the achievement of these standards.

Agree with these individuals concerned what these standards and competences are.

Review with these individuals their performance so that an agreement can be reached on any gaps to be filled between what they can do and what they should be able to do.

Every time you give someone an instruction treat it as a training opportunity. Get individuals to tell you how they would do the job. This way you can help them to work out the best way for themselves, progressively giving them less guidance so that they learn to stand on their own feet.

Allow for the learning curve. Don’t expect to much, but do require your staff to improve at a pace which matches their natural aptitudes. Only bear down hard on people if they are clearly not trying and have no excuse.

Always train and develop by example. Give people the opportunity to learn from the way you do things. Remember that managers learn best how to manage by managing under a good manager. And this principle applies equally well to other categories of job holders.

Remember that the prime responsibility for training and developing your staff rests with you and your results depend on their competence.

Plan the training for your staff in accordance with a regular review of their training needs.

Remember to use a variety of training techniques such as job instruction, assignments, coaching, and guided reading.

As written in “The Practice of Management” – Development is always self-development. Nothing could be more absurd that for the enterprise to assume responsibility for the development of a man. The responsibility rests with the individual, his abilities, his efforts …Every manager in a business has the opportunity to encourage self-development or to stifle it, to direct it or to misdirect it. he should be specifically assigned the responsibility for helping all men working with him to focus, direct and apply their self-development efforts productively. And every company can provide systematic development changes to its manager.

This year Dr Baumann South Africa as a company will be offering educational seminars relevant to the skin and the products we use in our Skinology Seminars as well as new innovating ideas on business in our Millionaire Seminars. This will be just one of the ways we will be trying to assist you and your staff in your business ventures for new year.