According to 42nd US President, William J. Clinton, “education no longer stops on graduation day.” Since change is the only thing that is constant, we humans should learn to be able to adjust in order to cope. Completing a degree should not be seen as the end of learning and be used as an assurance or basis for a person’s excellence in the field that will be pursued. The fact that learning needs to be continuous in order to achieve excellence in career should be embraced. This is very important to be realized by not only the individual but also by business owners or leaders of organizations. Employers just can’t expect that since they chose to hire applicants with great credentials, they’re good to go. Leaders should bear the responsibility to afford training and development for their team.
Training should not only be done as a sort of orientation to the nature of the job before starting – it should be a constant thing. What aspects should be trained and developed in every individual then? All individuals and companies need training in personal development, leadership, customer service, and business skills.
Personal development involves training and activities that would help develop the character of a person, bring out one’s full potential, learn to work effectively with others, and strive for excellence as a mission not only for oneself but for everyone in the team. A true leader knows that this aspect is very important when aiming for a bigger vision. If only the leader knows the organization’s vision and mission by heart, that leader is just like leading a group of blind mice whose main purpose is just to survive. The seed of passion must be planted in them to make them realize the importance of what they are doing. Personal development training will lead them to realize their why, their true potential, and their accountability in the organization’s achievement of its vision and mission.
Having established the importance of a leader in an organization, it is therefore necessary to point that leadership training is equally necessary. The role of a leader is very crucial in ensuring that the organization is on the right path towards its goals. A leader does not only direct the team on what to do, but he/she should also set a good example to them. It is also important to note that every person has a different personality and different views, thus, a leader should learn various ways that can be employed in dealing with these differences within the team. These ways can be only learned through leadership training.
On the same hand, customer service training is equally important. In our first article, the need for a great customer service was thoroughly discussed. Not everyone has it in their nature to have people skills due to different factors. This does not mean, however, that some people are not capable of providing good customer service. Everything is learnable. Thus, leaders should make it a point to invest in customer service training for their team. Standards in this aspect should be properly set in order for the organization to be on the same page when dealing with clients. Customer service training will be able to solve any gap in execution. Why is customer service training important? Well, customer service has a big impact on the retention and loyalty of clients that produces good numbers in sales and great return in general. That is a big enough reason to invest money and time on it.
Another important training that leaders should engage their team in is business skills’ development. Prior knowledge and skills acquired from school, and early training can propel one towards a certain point of one’s career. This is true. However, as was said, change is constant. A lot of knowledge and skills which were previously thought to be indispensable are now considered obsolete due to recent discoveries and innovations. If the knowledge and skills of the team will not be enhanced to fit these changes, it will lead to not only their downfall but to the organization’s as well.
Some may say that it’s okay not to invest in the development of the old team members because new and advanced ones can replace them anyway. Yet, will the vision of the organization materialize if there is no loyalty between leaders and their team? I believe not. Once a team is built, make that team grow in knowledge, skills, strength, dedication, passion, discipline and attitude. Surely, success will follow.
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