Sometimes TV tells the truth
Ever seen shows like "Restaurant Impossible" or "Hotel Impossible"?
The premise for either is an expert comes to the rescue of a dysfunctional business. He assesses the situation, then fixes what's wrong, turning the place around in record time with a healthy dose of "reality check" to the people running the place.
I see a pattern here, and it's not just the show formula. Time after time, the same elements are bringing down the business and making things chaotic for staff and customers.
1. NO TRAINING
Go figure, many episodes show staff have either never been trained, or trained poorly. There is no formal plan, no set guidelines, nobody in charge of showing or explaining how to do things right. Take your pick of almost any job on the property, and someone hasn't been trained properly on how to do it. They just wing it as they go, trying to figure it out, and now they need an intervention to get the business back on track.
2. TRAINING IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE TRAINER
Let's add fuel to the fire: whomever is being 'trained' (if at all) is also being guided by someone who, as often as not, has little or no proper education themselves on doing that job. When you lack standards and processes to ensure everyone's on the same page, this means you have weaknesses with the supervisors and managers too: My supervisor said so. My boss does it this way. This is what they showed me/told me to do. I made it up.
Ever heard the saying "practice makes perfect"? Wrong!
"Practice makes permanent". There's a very important difference between these two. You'll only achieve perfection if you know what it is in the first place and have the ability to achieve it. If you've been told or taught the wrong thing, or been allowed to keep doing something incorrectly, it gets ingrained as the way to get it done, regardless of how wrong it may be.
3. TRAINING REDUCES STRESS + MISTAKES (AT MINIMUM)
Every single time, after the expert intervenes and shows everyone what should be done (and how) there is a clear improvement. The staff look relieved, happier, energized. They get more excited about their work. They have clarity on what to do and how to do it. Many are thrilled to be freed up from knowing something was wrong, but had management/leadership entrenched in poor practices, insisting on having things done "their way". Who doesn't want employees who are more engaged and enthused about what they do?! They're more committed, productive, and easier to manage.
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If you are not properly training your employees, you're making a mess of things! How is anyone supposed to do a great job when they don't even know what to do, or how to do it? Save everyone the stress and hassle (including for your customers, be they internal or external), and get on top of providing training to everyone in your organization.
NEED HELP WITH TRAINING IN YOUR COMPANY? LET'S TALK!