How to Train Your Staff

Developing your staff through training is one of the most effective ways of improving your franchise business. Staff training can become a great way to team build, enhance an employee’s education and provide your enterprise with overall staff development. Today small businesses have a huge amount of training opportunities to choose from. Government has been developing staff training courses for several years and now offer integrated packages that offer every type of business the chance to gain real-world advantages by improving how businesses utilise the staff they have.

Train to Gain

The latest government training initiative is Train to Gain [www.traintogain.gov.uk]. Developed by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) [www.lsc.gov.uk] Train to Gain links your business’s training needs to the educational institutions that can provide it. The service operates like a brokerage where you contact a Train to Gain broker who will locate the right training your business needs.

Sector Specific Skills

General education training in IT skills for instance is available from a wide range of sources. Staff training in specialised or specific market sectors is also available. Your local Jobcentre Plus can help you locate these specialised services. If your franchise business is in the retail sector organisations like Skillsmart Retail and the Retail Trust are superb sources of help and information about staff development in this business sector.

NVQ and Beyond

Much of the staff training that your business will want to undertake will be vocational. Training and education can deliver practical skills to your staff that will build your team and deliver tangible profits to your franchise. National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) offer a wide-range of qualifications to train your staff. You can read more about the NVQ qualification on the Directgov website: http://tinyurl.com.

Investors in People

This system enables any size of business to understand how it operates and identify areas where improvements can be made. Using the tool your business can instantly see where it can advance its staff education and training and provide a new platform for expansion and team building. Via a set of ‘indicators’ you can see how your business could develop. A set of tools - including education and training - then enables you to put a plan into action to make those improvements a reality. More information about Investors in People is available on their website.

Your Staff Training Checklist

1: Skills Audit
Before you can choose the right education or staff training and development for your business you need to know what staff training would be useful. Auditing the skills and knowledge of within your organisation will instantly reveal which skills and education are needed.

2: Cost and Time
Your business has to weigh the cost of the staff training that is needed with the time and cost of the courses your staff will need to take. Your aim should be to gain a high return on the investment your business is making.

3: Consult Your Employees
Implementing a successful training program will require the cooperation of your staff. Training can’t be forced onto your employees. Consult them at every stage of the process to ensure you are buying the right training that will deliver the knowledge, skills and team building your business needs to develop,

4: Help and Advice
There is masses of help and support from the main training agencies. They can match your business’s training needs to the available course and also advise on how best to manage a training program within your business.

5: Evaluate Your Training
The staff training and education you are buying for your business is to deliver tangible results. You need to develop a metric that will enable you to see if your training schedule has been successful. Regularly evaluating your training will allow you to make any changes that are necessary to ensure you receive a good return on your investment.