Workplace Training Is Easier Than You Think

Industry insiders know natural products employees are a special group of people who often have a deeper interest in being in the industry. It is not always “just a job;” often, it’s personal. Find out what brought your employees into the industry and their level of interest in nutrition. Ask them if they know someone who has benefited from taking herbal supplements or alternative medicine. After you’ve opened the door to their passion, you can find a way to build on this and translate it into increase product knowledge.

It is also important to remember people learn more when they’re having fun. One way to make training fun and interactive is to engage the regular customers; ask why they like a particular supplement. When employees learn why certain supplements are beneficial they can encourage more add-on sales. After all, if we feel that something is really helping someone, it will inspire us to share it with others. In addition, make sure industry publications are available to read and give your employees time to read them.

Personal Improvements & Group Dynamics

While gaining product knowledge and goal setting certainly spell personal improvement, working as a team is necessary in order to thrive in the workplace. Everyone has problems, and many individuals don’t have a strong personal support system and spend a lot of time at work, often seeking support there. If happy employees make better employees, help them to learn how to deal with life’s stresses. Debbie Maxwell, a trainer and counselor at InSync in Bothell, Wash., has taught numerous growth courses to large corporations and smaller non-profits. “Personal improvement is about learning new things and not stagnating,” Maxwell said. She has facilitated courses on communication, stress management, conflict resolution and feedback, as well as cultural sensitivity. These skills apply in all facets of life and ultimately boil down to learning how to work in a team, or “teambuilding,” an often overlooked but critical factor in a productive work environment. When your employees like each other and know how to communicate by giving and receiving feedback, the dangers of a negative undercurrent is greatly minimized.

Maxwell acknowledged smaller organizations may not be able to hire consultants to facilitate this kind of training, so she recommended trying community college courses that focus on handling conflict in the workplace, building communication skills, and handling stress. Other courses are offered in self-improvement and self-awareness; emotional intelligence can teach employees to deal with dissatisfied customers and interact more effectively with coworkers. Managers of retail stores can also turn to books such as “Fifth Discipline Field Book” by Peter Senge. This book includes a fun exercise to help employees get to know each other and strategies for building a learning organization.

Bigger organizations may appoint a trainer or hire a professional consultant to conduct exercise in a retreat setting or on site to facilitate teambuilding. On site, trainers can check on “Games Trainers Play” by Scannell/Newstrom for training tips.

Training is all about believing in your employees and investing in their future, which is investing in your future too. The more an individual feels connected to your organization and the people there, the more incentive there is to grow and to contribute to your organization.

by Heather Berg, owner of Berg Recruiting Naturally Inc.

Sidebar:

Breaking the Ice

When a new employee comes to the organization, a great way to break the ice is with a simple exercise called “Three Truths and a Lie.” Just like it sounds, each employee shares four pieces of personal information, three truths and one lie. The group gets to figure out which one is the lie. After they figure it out, the employee expands a bit on the truths, which is a fun way to get to know each other.

Share this article: Email, Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Yahoo!MyWeb, Windows Live Favorites, Furl
Add this article feed to: RSS, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines

Read Comments [0]