Training Management Lets Companies Turn Coal Into Gold
Anyone who has spoken to a hiring manager might have heard the common remark that it is very difficult to find good people. Lack of good skilled people is not the reason for this situation. Even though there are plenty of highly skilled and qualified people, they are not available in the job market just for the simple reason that they are happy doing their jobs in their respective organizations. A good reason for this is that they were brought to the level of performing at higher levels through competent business and management coaching, even though they weren't at this level from the beginning of their career.
Sure, many CEO's have a Harvard MBA, but well below the CEO level, the fact is that a large percentage of management started out at the bottom. There's not much reality to the old quip "Why back in my day, you started at the bottom - and by God, you stayed there!" In fact, everyone knows that competent training management (often called "on the job training") is one of the chief ways companies have of increasing the worth of their in-house talent. And this worth doesn't just leave the company.
Employees want to know that they are important to their companies. Investing in an employee validates their contribution. The various forms of training management let them know that their company is willing to help them become more successful. This results in employees feeling a greater stake in their company and being less enthusiastic to work elsewhere.
One more dirty secret is that training management leaves a company whose employees don't know exactly what they're worth. Unlike the Harvard MBA, they don't have a piece of paper that suddenly makes them much more expensive to hire. At the same time, they are often just as motivated, or more so, after taking on the job training (while being paid!) than someone slugging through academia. This is one many reasons companies are eager for training management nowadays.
Just as important to a company as training management is another function: change management. Would that the market never moved, that once we designed a product, we could keep selling it forever! However pleasant that thought might be, the reality is that change is a constant in this world, and even products as venerable as Coca-Cola get redesigned from time to time - to say nothing of the blitz ad campaigns! A company must be able to keep its workforce fresh and filled with vitality through continuous management.
Diplomas last forever, but changes occur continuously in the world of business. But even Harvard sees change occur all around it and must adapt. Change management helps your company stay current in an ever-changing world. Such management helps your business in the lead in the marketplace and help you develop employees to be the best they can be.
Hiring managers tend to say that good people are very hard to find. That is because there aren't any good people available. The highly skilled and qualified employees are very happy where they are, and don't go to market. The reason is that they did not start that way but were elevated to that position through competent business and management coaching. Thus, employees prefer to remain in such an organization that invests in them through seminars, conferences and other forms of training management. Another function of a company is change management, through which the workforce is kept very new. Thus companies stay on top and make their employees strong.
Published July 20th, 2007
