December 26th, 2010 by Bruce

Comprehensive employee training is the key to getting an edge over the competition. And with the advent of online training and e-learning, companies today are exposed to more opportunities for effective and efficient employee training.

However, managers implementing traditional training methods feel a bit apprehensive about this new training medium. Is online training effective? How can its results be measured? How can you effectively train people without real, human presence?

Surprisingly, face to face training is not the best method to train employees. In fact, it has become commonplace for exclusive face to face training programs to have a hard time in getting the best return on investment due to the high cost and time commitment that it usually entails. Traditional classroom training sessions have a number of drawbacks, low attendance and content retention being the most pressing issues.

Decision makers and training managers were surveyed, revealing that when a traditional corporate program falters, logistical obstacles such as employee availability, time constraints and staffing are usually to blame. Aside from that, frequent business travel and remote working also affects training participation. In-person training is only effective when all participants are in the same room – a great challenge for most small and medium-sized companies. For the respondents, remote access from any location and easy-to-use tools are necessary for effective training.

Thus, it just makes sense to use a contemporary approach at training.

Implementing online training on top of traditional classroom training does not only provide a dynamic and collaborative learning experience, but also saves you time and resources – online training gets rid of logistical planning, travel and venue expenses. By adopting this dispersed business operations and flexible working styles, employees become more spread out and can do their jobs more thoroughly.

While online training raises a lot of concerns in terms of effectiveness, participation, interaction, and attention of trainees, technological advancements have made it a convenient choice for companies of all sizes. Our current online training services already have the necessary features to increase employee engagement as well as to ensure the ease in monitoring and managing trainees.

As online training gains momentum, it is not difficult to see its benefits. Accepting this new training method and integrating it with traditional classroom training provides the company a variety of resources to reach a broader range of audiences, faster and within budget.

Learn more about online training and e-learning at the LMS training blog, http://www.coggno.com/learning-management-system/.

employee availability, face, human presence, IN, low attendance, online, time constraints, Training, travel

November 6th, 2009 by Bruce

Unlike company managers, owners or trainers, business speakers can get any message across to their audience. This is because business speakers can bring the perfect balance of humour, anecdotes, knowledge and advice to every event they attend whereas someone who does not specialise in public speaking could not do this.

But where do great business speakers get the material for their speeches, their industry knowledge and their ease with speaking publicly?

Experience In The Field
No business speaker would be successful if they did not have years of experience in business to support them.Only when you have worked in business will you know how to connect with your audience. You would be wasting your money hiring a business speaker if they could not connect with their listeners. A business speaker will be able to talk about whatever they have been hired for, be it to congratulate successful profits, boost an unmotivated sales team or train managers in the art of leading.

Anecdotes
Telling stories is a great way to gain an audiences’ attention and their years of working in business will have provided your speaker with many anecdotes. A story will not be included in a business speech if it does not have a purpose, and this might be to entertain the audience, as a word of warning or advice for specific events.

Public Speaking Training
When someone decides that they would like to become a public speaker, they will usually sign on with a speaking bureau who will provide them with training in public speaking. Training can really help to build confidence when speaking to big and small audiences. After all, just because you might have been a successful company owner and business king does not mean you have the confidence to speak to a room full of hundreds of people.

All of these boxes need to be ticked when you are looking for business speakers for your events as without them, you will not be able to have an impact on your audience.

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September 30th, 2009 by Bruce

There seems to be an incredible amount of material available on how to become a really great negotiator. In most negotiation situations, you have to compromise in some way, and therefore it’s generally the case of “lose some to gain more”. Supposing you had the opportunity to transform negotiating consistently into a “gain more” situation – and stay ahead of the competition, why wait? Read on and receive new insightful charismatic techniques from management training specialists to tilt the bar significantly in your favour.

This endeavour will require that you do a great deal of homework, as you have to find out how to win a battle – without ever walking onto the battlefield!

Find out as much information as you can about the profile of the individual in question as possible. Learn how the person dealt with similar situations previously, and if they’ve engaged in negotiation often, point out to him the ways in which he had failed. This would at least deter him from using those same processes with you. It’s also a smart move to brief your opponent about the possible chance of a “win-win” situation turning into a “win-lose” one, with him being the one on the losing side.

The vast majority of negotiations don’t turn out the way the parties want them to. Generally, negotiating can be a rather time consuming process which is quite strenuous, therefore, in some circumstances it might lead to both parties losing their interest and the motivation to continue. In addition, a lack of interest from either of the parties can rapidly lead to a breakdown, thereby removing any likelihood of an agreement later on. Sometimes, a third party can make out a deal with your suppliers or customers easier than you can, and as there is “no use crying over spilled milk”, why let such a situation ever occur?

Negotiation is certainly not something to run away from, but when it is known that the process won’t help much, it should be held back as a final option. For instance, if negotiation attempts with one of your suppliers or customers have not yielded enough in previous situations – stop negotiating, and try something new. In this kind of situation, one should proceed in a straight forward manner and put forth clear terms. Most business coaching experts agree that this will at the very least save the time and effort which would have been in vain had negotiation otherwise ensued.

Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of the L2L Group, specialising in supplying Executive Coaching, Training and Consultancy Services to Businesses around the World. Want to find out more about these comprehensive business building success strategies? Get Alan’s phenomenal FREE Business Pack right now!

Alan, Alan Gillies, Business, Executive Coaching, final option, negotiation, negotiation situations, Read, situation, spilled milk, Training, training specialists, way

September 27th, 2009 by Bruce

Small Business Training

Many UK residents annually make the decision to launch a small business. These folks may want to make money doing something they know a lot about, or maybe just need to escape a dire financial situation. There’s little question that launching such a venture is a significant risk; thousands each year fail at their attempts to keep a small business afloat. With this in mind, people hate the idea of not making the most of what they’re capable of, and making more from their business. Thus, the best thing for a new businessperson in the UK is to turn to small business training as the answer to furthering business skills.

Small Business Training
An induction is the process used by employers to integrate new employees into their enterprises. While induction in some companies is quite informal, in others it involves more formal small business training courses that can take place over several days or sessions.
Since employers are legally required to provide health and safety information to new employees, these topics may occupy a prominent place in induction training. In addition to health and safety information, a good induction program should cover the following topics:

When you operate a small business, you know that money is at a premium. the good thing is that overhead can be minimal, also. However, there are still many common threads to businesses – for instance, working with computers, handling staff, and working with customers are traits of any company. So they can be fortunate that if they need some help, then small business sales training can help, as can small business computer training, and small business marketing training. These companies really just desire the ability to communicate well with customers and gain insight on strategies that will take their business from scratch to a roaring success story.

Business Training

A small business or project management course will train fledgling outfits in the UK on how to devise and manage plans and goals for specific client assignments. Business training videos are also on hand for these companies. Small business consultants can also be of service. With the correct small business training, you can benefit from the fruits of your labor.
While start-of-employment induction is the most common type, the most successful employers recognise that ongoing training programs will create an intelligent and agile workforce capable of adapting effectively to changes in the work environment or business climate. One mistake that many companies make is failing to invest sufficient resources like time and money on integrating and nurturing new employees via a small business training program. Remember that induction works both ways: The company is as eager to get to know new employees as they are to get off to a good start in their new positions. Also, research shows that well-designed induction systems can help a company retain employees.

Business, Company, induction, money, project management course, small business computer, small business sales, small business training, Training, UK

August 24th, 2009 by Bruce

What’s the most essential resource for the potential success of any business? The unanimous answer, without question, is human resources. And when we say human resources, we mean highly skilled, knowledgeable and efficient human resources. The overall level of quality of the people in an organisation can either consistently push it towards success, or drag it down into the abyss of failure.

However, it’s rarely possible for any company to readily find ideal people who are already equipped with the desired skills and experience. Companies often end up recruiting the wrong people or candidates with insufficient prior experience. In such cases, giving them the pink slip – firing them, might seem to be the easiest way out of such a situation, but it’s not always the right solution. Another consideration, and in some cases a much better way ahead, can be comprehensive training with business coaching basics. This can be a win-win situation for the organisation and the employee – if it’s carried out properly. The primary reason for this training is to teach valuable skills and work related knowledge to the workforce utilising a positive structured method. This process can even turn “couldn’t-be-worse” employees into valuable organisational assets.

How to achieve excellent results:

When engaged in management training, imparting specific skills and understanding to those with limited ability or those with mismatched skills, can often be a tricky issue. However, this process can be radically simplified if the company adopts a calm and well planned, step-by-step approach.

1. The first thing every company should manage is their own personal expectations with regard to the people they’re attempting to train, as only a small percentage of people will be able to ideally suit any specific career or position. Inevitably, there will be quite a few candidates which will be unsuitable – even totally unacceptable, however if just a few make it through the intensive training, then the long term future of the organisation will be virtually guaranteed.

2. The existing employees can play a crucial role in this development process. They can make all the difference by assisting any new colleagues to feel comfortable in the office settings. A new recruit generally looks around for friendly faces, and a welcoming approach in such a situation can generally help a great deal in boosting everyone’s morale.

3. The employee should be slowly taken through the training process. Training assignments or modules should comprise more of on-the-job tasks rather than classroom coaching, and as with everything – practice makes perfect.

4. The entire process may take more time than expected. So, managers need to be patient with each candidate, as rushing will leave the employees feeling anxious and frustrated from not being able to meet the required standards.

5. Constant communication with the senior management is something that can work wonders for the confidence of new recruits. When they find someone who is patient with them, and ready to guide and motivate them, candidates will usually put forth their maximum effort to learn everything necessary.

6. Last but not least, an organization which invests trust in the capabilities of its people has a greater chance of survival in turbulent times, as its loyal people will give-their-all to pull it through.

Keeping the above considerations in mind, an organisation can, with determination, successfully tackle every training issue which arises. In these times, when educational institutes have mushroomed up in every nook and cranny of the city, and are churning out professionals in hoards, finding the right talent should be easy, but for whatever reason, finding the right candidate for any position is almost always an uphill task. Brave firms tackle these problems head-on by adopting proven scouting strategies and efficient training methodology, so they can – “in a nutshell”, even turn coal into diamonds.

Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of the L2L Group. He specialises in delivering Executive Coaching, Training and Consultancy Services to International Businesses across the World. Want to discover more about these insightful business building success strategies? Get Alan’s essential FREE Business Pack today!

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