When a company is small (just 30 people), what's the best way to train new staff and help them to remain passionate about their work? There’s always something new to learn, and every day new skills should be picked up. First and foremost, prove your business model works. Hire excellent people who believe in your company and then help them to share in your goals, by improving their skills.
You need your best people to grow in their careers as your business gains traction and expands; that way you keep their enthusiasm high. Tapping into employees’ desire for learning gives you a competitive advantage over bigger companies.
Let your people run with their ideas - with a small team, who else will? If you give your employees significant responsibilities they will surprise you with what they can achieve. And you’ll win their loyalty and commitment.
They will then be keen to learn and move up. Constantly learning and acquiring new skills is essential; you may be able to group people together or even get e-learning organized so that no time is spent out of office.
As teams grow and people move upwards and into new roles, you need to provide training then for newcomers. Graduates in particular.
Consider smart ways to train; staged in-house training or mentors, particularly those from contrasting backgrounds as well as some traditional training. You can set up mentoring in house with one of your best people and have ‘newbies’ shadowing this mentor for the first few days. Following that, your new employee can be supervised by the mentor and can continue to ask for tips and advice over a period of time.
Stay on the lookout for new technologies and opportunities and arrange seminars to help people build their skills. A culture of opportunity at your business will make a huge difference to your people! You can create an environment where they are learning all day long, not just in the traditional sense. Success is an attitude.
