Why Is Team Training So Important For Trades Businesses? – Software Buddy
If you’ve ever worked in a trades business, you will know that team training is an ongoing process. It pays to keep your staff in the know and up to date with new technologies and best practices.
Team training is something that should be maintained throughout your career. Having the appropriate training is vital for remaining at the cutting-edge of your profession and providing the best service for your customers.
From a strategic point of view, team training also has a number of benefits.
As well as ensuring that every individual employee is up to scratch, training your whole team can give your business a competitive advantage.
Here are just a few reasons why team training is so important for trades businesses.
Consistency Is The Key
By having a structured training programme set up for your staff members you can make sure that everyone is setting off from the same base.
Putting everyone on a level playing field within your company, regardless of their previous knowledge or experience. As well as trade skills , your team training should include safety, admin as well as company procedures and familiarising your staff with workflows.
This means that all of your customers will receive the same standard of service, no matter who is delegated to their project.
Creating this level of consistency across your whole business is key for good customer service and helps to enable growth in the future.
Raising Employee Satisfaction
In today’s world employee engagement and job satisfaction are crucial for any business. Employees who are kept informed and up to speed with the latest training are much more likely to have higher job satisfaction than those who are untrained. So for happy staff who feel valued in your business, invest in training.
Employees who are left to seek training opportunities for themselves can often feel unappreciated by their employer. Additionally, if they are receiving training from a variety of places and teachers, this can cause inconsistencies in their learning and service levels.
Reducing Employee Turnover
The knock-on effect of high employee satisfaction is that your team will feel more loyal to your business.
This means employee turnover will decrease.
Your team will feel more stable, as your staff members feel comfortable and supported enough to commit their future to your company.
Not only does this allow you to plan for the future with a secure team in place, but it also means your customers will benefit from seeing the same friendly faces whenever they arrange an appointment.
When your customers are faced with an ever-changing number of tradesmen showing up at their address when they set up a job with your business, it can be off-putting. When your customers can expect to deal with the same core group of people, it builds trust.
Eliminate Weaknesses & Deliver Consistent High Performance
You know the saying: you’re only as strong as your weakest link.
That’s especially true in the trades business.
If there’s just one member of your team who isn’t up to the standards of the others, they’ll stick out like a sore thumb.
They might rely heavily on others to complete basic tasks, which drags other team members down and prevents them from being as productive as they’d like.
By providing the right level of training for all staff members, you can address any weaknesses and bring everyone up to an acceptable baseline.
Sure, you may still have employees who are better at certain tasks than others, but all staff will be able to fulfil the duties expected of them as members of your team.
Start To Attract The Top Talent
Offering a defined training plan to your employees is a great way to attract the top talent to your business. If you are looking to grow your trades business, then it’s absolutely key that you offer your best employees a way to grow and develop.
Nobody wants to stagnate in their career, so it’s important to provide a clear route through to superior positions for those who want to pursue it.
How To Remain At The Cutting-Edge
Nobody wants to hire a tradesman, only to discover they’re still using tools and techniques from twenty years ago.
Ongoing training within your business helps to increase innovation and keep you at the cutting-edge of the latest best practice.
Of course, the new techniques and tools that are entering the market tend to make certain tasks easier.
Therefore, training your staff in these new techniques will mean that every project can be completed more efficiently, freeing up time in your schedule to take on extra work.
That’s how trades businesses grow.
Benefit From An Enhanced Company Reputation
Having a strong and clearly defined training strategy helps to build and enhance your company’s reputation.
The way you treat your staff reflects on your company in many ways. When customers see just how much effort you put into training and developing your staff, they’re likely to see you as a trustworthy business and deserving of their custom.
If, on the other hand, clients see you neglecting staff, allowing skills gaps to go unnoticed or falling behind in terms of innovation and best practice, it doesn’t reflect well on you at all.
In this industry, reputation is key to growth and training certainly enhances your reputation.
Generate Increased Profits From Your Training Investments
It goes without saying that in the trades business, you get what you pay for.
If, as a client, you wanted the most experienced contractors in the business working on your project, you’d expect to pay more for their considerable skills.
So it follows that the more you train your workforce, the more you can viably charge clients for your services.
If you ensure that all of your workers are trained to a very high level, your rates will naturally rise in line with the market – which leads to greater profit and the ability to grow.