Staff Training Secrets: Why Your Best Trainers Might Be Sitting Next to You!

Employee Training

Sadly, I’ve found many training courses and books don’t quite hit the mark because they aren’t adapted to an organisation’s specific context. For example, I’ve attended sales training that taught a consultative sales method when a transaction method was required. Or customer service training which, if taken to the extremes of, “The customer is always right”, could cause a company to go bankrupt.

Fortunately, I have a great solution; often your best trainers already work for you, they are your Great Performers. Having actual practitioners teach is very effective because they already know what leads to success for your organisation’s specific context.

Only some Great Performers will make great trainers. Beyond their knowledge, they must also be:

• Organised: They must plan and structure an employee training session logically and coherently.
• Selfless: Training takes time and knowledge, which is particularly challenging if they’re heavily incentivised – as with salespeople – because they may not want to share their “secrets”. Furthermore, the time spent training is time away from selling and earning themselves commision.
• Engaging: To hold their audience’s attention and make staff training sessions interactive and enjoyable.
• Patient and flexible: Able to accommodate colleagues’ varying learning styles and understand that each individual has unique needs and abilities.
• Encouraging, positive and supportive: To ensure everyone actively participates.
• Professional: Show respect for participants and be a good ambassador for the business.

In addition to the person being trained, the trainer also benefits, giving them purpose and inspiring them beyond their regular job.

Overall, the purpose of this article is not to explain how to train but to highlight the problem with some training, and who may be best to help.

‍

Additional Resources

• Talent Acquisition Book; The Secrets of Great Recruitment: How to Recruit Great Employees.
• Downloadable PDF guide; Simple Steps to Enhance Employee Retention & Reduce Turnover.
• Downloadable checklist; Checklist for Employee Onboarding.
• Article; Staff Induction Secrets: How to Turn New Hires into Great Performers!
• Article; Improve Employee Retention & Reduce Staff Turnover.
• Article; Performance Management Secrets: How the Best Leaders Handle Reviews.
• Article; Employee Promotion: Why Merit Beats Tenure Every Time.