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Does your workplace take the time to discuss what you’re doing and how to do it better? Don’t ever underestimate the value of training.
I held a one-on-one coaching session today with a PR writer from a large US-based corporation. Her employer had hired me to host a webinar for her entire department. Then, I had the chance to work individually with 10 employees, by phone.
By the end of our one-hour call, this particular employee was thrilled. “It’s been so good to talk about the process of writing,” she said. “In PR, we just ‘do,'” she said. “We don’t usually take the time to talk about what we’re doing or how to do it better.”
I didn’t tell her this, but her observation is true of just about every job known to humankind. Engineers don’t talk about how to be better engineers, lawyers don’t discuss how to do law more effectively, doctors don’t debate how to make people healthier. Everyone is too busy working!
The only field that puts an adequate emphasis on training is sales. Why? Because if things don’t sell, no one makes any money and the operation has to shut down. But we should learn from our compatriots in sales. Training makes a difference. If we want to improve, we need to spend some time thinking about what we’re doing and figure out if there are other ways to do it better.
I like the way Queen Elizabeth II (pictured above) puts it. “It’s all to do with the training,” she says. “You can do a lot if you’re properly trained.” If you’re a business owner or manager, make sure your employees regularly get the training and feedback they need. It will not only make your employees more effective, it will also make you look better, too.