Maximise productivity and strengthen workplace relationships with a targeted training strategy that meets your organisation’s objectives.
Hiring for skills can be an expensive and time-consuming business. Sometimes it’s necessary – your organisation is expanding and needs more hands on deck or perhaps you are moving into a new sector. More often than not however, the skills you might recruit for are actually within the grasp of your internal talent pool. You just need to identify who can potentially upskill, devise a plan of action and crucially, invest in it.
Developing homegrown talent is cost-effective and lower risk than a new hire.
Let’s look at a common dilemma. Your team regularly presents to potential clients. But your sales team hates it. They are terrific one-on-one, know your market and product range inside out and are loyal to your organisation. Do you:
- Recruit someone new to take all the glory at those big audience presentations, risking the existing dynamic of your team and damage their confidence?
- Empower your team with the communication and self-confidence skills they need to learn to not just survive presentations but thrive in them?
Obviously we believe the latter option is the preferred route. The original goal might be to improve sales presentations. However, the ‘value add’ could be even more beneficial. Side-effects might include greater confidence and self-esteem, a stronger sense of purpose and belonging, and a reduction in stress related burnout. New people can of course bring a fresh approach, but avoid overlooking the untapped talent that is right in front of you.
Encourage an open and inclusive workplace culture of career-long learning.
No one is too old, experienced or senior to learn. Any form of training which involves collaboration is a valuable exercise in strengthening workplace relationships, in addition to improving specific skills. When senior leaders take part, they demonstrate that continual learning is part of their ongoing development plan too. Nobody is a ‘finished product’.
Ensure that your training strategy is accessible across your organisation, not just to a select few. This is where targeted training options are important. For instance, not everyone is interested in or suited to leadership. But, most people want to be heard and seen in team meetings.
Include team wide emotional intelligence skills development in your training offer to help to give space to the quiet talent in the room. And what about those potential leaders who don’t believe that leadership development is applicable to them, because they don’t ‘see’ themselves in the existing hierarchy? An accessible training strategy opens the door to a leadership pathway which might otherwise appear impossible.
“Effective action to improve EDI requires a systemic approach across the organisation ... a focus on inclusive recruitment, people management, development and leadership behaviour can really help create fairer workplaces with equality of opportunity."
Demonstrate that you are a destination employer through investment in your people infrastructure.
There is no better way to keep your talented people than by investing in their future. A training and development strategy that addresses not just work-specific technical skills, but also the skills that we need in everyday life is a powerful incentive to stay with an employer. This is an important message to send to your people and the potential long term effects should not be underestimated.
The days of dispensable people are long gone. Recruitment is costly and risky. It takes up valuable resources which could be better employed elsewhere. Invest in your people to create and elevate a positive workplace culture that your people are proud of and can advocate in their network. You’ll find it easier to attract top talent when you really do need to recruit. You’ll develop stronger relationships with your clients and suppliers. And, you’ll have a work environment that people can take pride in being part of.
" ... leaders have to care about retaining talent before they can start to think about those who are walking out the door. Making the organisation sticky ... is part of that active investment in the entire workforce."
Invest in your workplace culture with Holst
Talk to us about how through a bespoke targeted training programme we can help you to optimise the talented people who make your organisation a great place to work.
