Why Ignoring Staff Training is Your Fast Track to Failure
Updated: Sep 26
By Hamad Al-Morished
We've all heard the adage, "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link." Now, let's tweak that for the corporate world: "A business is only as good as its employees." I've been beating this drum from day one, so if you haven't internalized it yet, now's the time. Burn it into your consciousness.
The buzzword "training" is thrown around like confetti in business seminars. Sales training, mentorship training, leadership training—pick your flavor. But here's the kick: in this flurry to supercharge our teams, we often miss out on the most critical segment the foundation, the bedrock, the unsung heroes of our corporate saga the frontliners.
Too often, our sights are set on the upper echelons. We pump resources into supervisory and managerial training, praying for a trickle-down of skill, hoping against hope that the zest will percolate through the ranks. But, let's call a spade a spade. We've been barking up the wrong tree, deluding ourselves with half-baked strategies.
Our frontliners are the faces of our businesses. They're on the ground, interfacing with customers, addressing grievances, and here's the kicker up-selling the living daylights out of our products and services. It's high time we shifted our focus to training these crucial players.
So, How Do We Fix This Oversight?
Ah, the million-dollar question. The answer, unsurprisingly, lies in a blend of video and paperwork. And no, this isn't just because we happen to be in the production business though a cheeky wink won't hurt.
Over the years, I've been barraged with questions. Here's a common one: "My team isn’t hitting our sales objectives. What gives?"
Let's tackle this head-on:
Define Your Goals with Precision: Use the S.M.A.R.T framework. That's specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals. This isn't just corporate jargon it's a tried-and-tested methodology.
Diagnose the Issue: Once your objectives are clear, dive into diagnostics. Is the market saturated? Is there a formidable new competitor? Or maybe the problem lies closer to home with the team or the product?
Implement Training Programs: Upon identifying the challenges, it's time to roll up those sleeves and tackle the issues. Training shouldn't just be a generic solution; it should be tailored to address the specific hurdles your team faces.