Training is a noble profession. Successful corporate employee training and development yields a variety of benefits including, a more competitive workforce, better employee performances, and increased staff engagement, and retention.
Providing training only to be competent in the employees jobs is only a tip of the iceberg. This includes training them on the hard skills and the power skills.
We need to dwell upon finding solutions to the other hidden key factors as well, which would provide a comprehensive solution to improve productivity and profitability besides the development of the employees to reach their fullest potential. Everything is in the hands of the trainers or managers.
Hence, organisations should also continuously keep on training the trainers to find new dimensions to motivate, inspire, train and develop the trainees continuously to reach the highest standards and higher echelons in their careers within the organisation. In these socio economic and political failures, almost everyone from top to bottom of the organisation is stressed, anxious, depressed and unmotivated.
The trainer could make all the differences to reduce stress, anxiety, depression and motivate and inspire the trainees to perform better which would lead to better profits and returns to the organisations thereby providing relief to everyone from top to bottom of the organisation.
Hence, it is a herculean task of a manager or trainer to bring them back the adverse effects in these uncertain times to normalcy in order to keep them going. It is something like swimming against the tide but competent trainers should have the abilities and capabilities to sail against the winds to reach ashore. The managers and trainers should play pivotal roles in inspiring their employees to realising the companies vision and mission in spite of the adverse factors seen in the micro and macro environments.
Ultimate objective
They should inculcate the “values” as well in an holistic way. They should change with the change as this is vital to be the No.1 in the business industry. The ultimate objective of the Training Profession has to “Produce multi talented trainees to supercede them”.
Comprehensive training
Let us now look at the crucial factors that are responsible for creating stress among employees thereby becoming demotivated and non-productive to the organisations.
They are the following areas: personal life, work life, family life, financial life, social life, religious life, and spiritual life. They should also have a well balanced physical, fitness, nutrition and values, ethics and emotional, positive mental attitude and harmonise with the society and environment.
Ultimately and eventually they should be transformed as a “Complete person» with the above approaches to “holistic training». They should not only become intellectuals but also worthy citizens and contributors to society and the Motherland.
Managers or trainers should not only focus on providing training such as product, territory, company, customer, procedure, competitor, industry, IT, technical, disease knowledge (for pharmaceuticals) and other knowledge and skills but also equip the trainees to identify their struggles and weaknesses and assist them to transform their stresses, struggles and weaknesses to major strengths besides further helping them to further improve on their strengths.
Personal life comprises personality, character, leadership, good attitude, self discipline, behaviour, punctuality, regular attendance, compassion, honesty, caring, hardworking, self motivation, time management, work well in teams and communication skills.
As a trainer you should expect the following aspects from your trainees; excellent character, intelligence, positive thinking and positive mental attitude, flexibility, adaptability, emotional stability and good character. Imparting knowledge and technical skills are only a part of the service rendered by trainers.
Other areas of interest should be developing skills, inculcating values and attitude and making these a habit. In these times of uncertainty you should make them “critical thinkers” with analytical minds.
To do this you have to also make them “avid readers and proactive». The trainers are responsible for moulding the character of the trainees. The aim of any trainer should be to transform the trainees to have a «virtuous character». Hence, the trainers should teach the trainees on the «work-life balance» in order to be dynamic, vibrant and resilient employees who could lead fulfilled lives.You could also think in line with the latest «agile learning design» to benefit the trainees and organisations.
Training them on, «agile marketing» as well may be appropriate to the companies that are in search of new vistas in businesses.In conclusion as the responsible trainers and managers you should train them on change management, crisis management and conflict management.Previously these were the requirements for the top management.Now businesses and business environment that we operate in have evolved.Need of the hour is holistic approach to your noble Profession.
Cardinal rule
By fulfilling the duties outlined in the article, you could “produce multi-talented trainees superceding you” and make them as future leaders. As a cardinal rule in training, “understand the outcomes you are seeking and how you will evaluate whether they have been achieved before you design the training program”.
Train your trainees consistently and frequently. Make them accumulate their knowledge and transferable skills from your teachings and experiences. The employers should expect “effective and efficient” training plans and programs” from their trainers and managers.
The trainer should also function as an advisor, coach, guide, counsellor and mentor. As trainers you should assist your employers to realise the Return on Investments (ROI) and Return on Training Investments (RoTI) as these have to be your supreme goal and objective.
Do not wait till the country›s situation becomes normal. It is something like waiting for the waves in the sea to cease to go swimming or fishing. The future of your companies and the trainees are in your hands. Transforming your trainees› lives at workplaces should be your ultimate goal. Act fast, act now.
The writer is a professional pharma marketeer and trainer. He is also a specialist in communications.