Although I don’t want to rush the end of summer, with Labour Day weekend approaching, kids will be going back to school, and managers can take advantage of this tendency for themselves and their staff.
In fact fall is our busiest season in the training business. For many businesses summer is a slower time and fall is almost like the start of a new year.
Q: How important is it for leaders to get regular training?
A: It is important for leaders to sharpen their skill sets. Just like any profession that has a professional development or continuing education requirement, managers should look for opportunities to take classes to get better as a leader.
Q: How important is training to staff?
A: Given that the days of us working for the same company for our entire lives is being replaced by a series of shorter stints at different companies, one of the things that you can take with you from job to job is your knowledge and skills. So many employees look forward to taking new courses – it becomes a motivator.
Q: What kinds of training do you recommend for managers and staff?
A: I recommend a combination of hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are specific skills for doing your job tasks better – it could be welding training, computer skills, selling skills. Soft skills are usually referred to as communication, problem solving, motivation, team building and conflict managemenr.
