I recently wrote about the importance of making sure your leadership style will attract the right kind of people to your business. But hiring the right people is only the beginning—you need to develop your people if you want to grow.
Developing your people is about more than giving them increased responsibility and financial rewards. It involves increasing their knowledge and skills as well. If you want your company to keep growing and moving forward, you have to make sure your people are growing and moving forward as well. As Verne Harnish says in Scaling Up, “All growth companies are training companies.”
The skills and knowledge that worked yesterday (and even today) won’t take you were you need to be tomorrow. That means being committed to the concept of continual training and education and backing that up with a commitment of cash to provide that training.
Sometimes people will ask just how much of a financial contribution a company should make toward educating their employees. I’m not sure you can pin it down to a specific number, but you might want to start with 2% of your payroll as a benchmark figure.
Of course, the next question people ask is, “Where am I supposed to get that money?” Take a look at things your company spends on “rewards” and “motivation.” Money spend on good training will produce much better results than plaques, or gift certificates given for “showing up.” By the way, here’s an interesting article: The Gig is Up! Stop Wasting Billions On Perks That Don’t Work, that talks about just how ineffective some of those “incentives” are.
Some business leaders worry that spending time and money to train their employees will only make them more attractive to their competitors. Let me assure you that it will! But companies that take the time and spend the money to train their employees also end up with more loyal employees. If you want to keep them, take care of them.
Are you hiring and developing the kind of people who will be capable of building a company that will really make a difference? Hire well and then grow your employees if you want to grow your company.
Need help growing your business? With over 35 years of experience and thousands of companies assisted, Chuck Kocher and The Transformation Company can help you scale your business into a truly exceptional business capable of high growth strategies. Businesses are always changing, don’t let yours be left behind. Stand out with our business and executive leadership programs – designed to challenge and improve your business. Your business will thank you for it. Contact me today for a free consultation! 719-339-9505