The Training and Education Value Proposition
“Give a man a fish; and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”. -Unknown
We have all heard this proverb and have probably used it many times. It is one of my favorites and I personally utilize it with my family when I am sharing my thoughts on the importance of education and training. Whether you are a business owner or an individual, continuous education and training improves your ROI-Return on Investment. Education is very important for everyone as now competition is so much that you need special training so that you can compete with others so here we have Train The Trainer Courses available for your successful growth. The key is to have a plan that can be implemented and measured.
THE COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS PLAN
Everyone who owns a business should have a plan that encompasses goals and the strategies and tactics to achieve them. They should encompass education and training not only for product and processes but for the softer side of the business. Does your plan include sensitivity training around gender, diverse cultures, and age stages of life training? How are you preparing your work force to interface with the ever changing demographics in the marketplace? For that matter does your work force reflect the marketplace in which you do business? Do you have an advertising agency that understands diverse relevant messages with an effective media plan that also includes Social Media Marketing? Do you know the language preferences and ethnic characteristics of your market place?
Have you analyzed your strengths and weaknesses with respect to both your business and your employees? What do you know about your competitors and how do you compare with them? What can you do to make your products and your services relevant to the market or for that matter how are you differentiating yourself from the rest of the competition? With all of the various communication avenues available, Reputation Management is the issue in today’s environment and having a workforce that treats everyone like “mom” is critical for repeat business and building consumer loyalty.
Included in your Business Plan should be an objective evaluation of your enterprise. Utilizing Mystery Shoppers to gain a 3rd party vantage point of your brick and mortar, to understand the employee handling of your customers, and to evaluate your messages in the market place is a very inexpensive and accurate way to get a true appraisal of the face you are presenting to the public. (I.e. BESTMARK is a premier Mystery Shopping Company that does business in the USA, Europe, Asia and CANADA.)
THE PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
If you do not own a business, you still need a plan. Today’s world is more competitive, more fluid, and changes very rapidly. Continuously upgrading and improving skills is a must to stay in the competitive arena. Are you prepared for the field in which you currently compete? Are you prepared to change fields of interest? What does your personal educational plan look like? How will you know if you have met your plan? What are you doing each day to co-exist in today’s society?
MEASURE-MEASURE-MEASURE
Most importantly track and measure your plan. Everyone must support the plan to make it work and if it is not measured and course corrected as required opportunities will be lost to grow the business and thus improve your ROI.
Today’s marketplace and workplace is not like yesterdays. There is more consumer diversity, more product diversity, and a much more informed consumer. In today’s environment, everyone can be an expert on the product or service they want to buy due to the accessibility of the internet. Give consumers a reason to buy from you with employees who are educated and trained in product knowledge as well as in people skills.
THE VALUE PROPOSITION
The Business Training and Education Value Proposition is “To have an educated and trained workforce who can successfully attract, sell, retain and increase the loyalty of consumers who are diverse in culture, age, and gender”.
What are the components of your education and training plan?
What are you doing to prepare yourself or your workforce to meet the ever changing environment of today?
