subject: How In-house Training Can Improve Your Best Practice Standards [print this page] Adhering to the standards of best practice is an integral part of running a successful business. Not only does it give your clients an assurance that they will receive nothing but exemplary service, but it can also help to protect you against legal action in instances of cases of professional negligence. However, standards of any sort need to be maintained. In-house training can help to ensure that your standards of excellence do not slip.
Training across the Board.
One of the most effective methods of in-house training is structured training. Training of this sort is less intrusive than trying to train all staff in a short time. In addition to increasing your staffs' skill sets, it can systematically increase awareness of the standards of best practice pertinent to your industry. A workforce of comprehensively-trained employees will be far more effective than a workforce of individuals of varying skills and professional expertise.
Best practice means finding and implementing the best ways of achieving your business objectives. However, this can be as much about how your employees conduct themselves as how productive they are. Certain standards of best practice are set by the British Standards Institution and failure to adhere to these can result in litigation from clients who feel they have been mistreated. Yet best standards are not something to be feared; they also provide a quantitative way with which you can measure the performances of your staff and your business.
Finding the Weak Links.
Structured training identifies strengths and weaknesses on every level of a company's structure. Beginning with the management, it analyses the tiers of communication and productivity within the firm. By reducing the company to its constituent parts, it is often easier to see where the weak links in the various chains are. Best practice cannot be implemented uniformly if different levels of a firm are working within different parameters; everyone needs to be signing from the same hymn sheet.
Without cohesive training, a workforce can quickly splinter and become divided. This is not to say that there will be quarrelling factions, rather that there are always those who find it easy to work with others, just as there are others who prefer to 'go it alone'. However, while there is always the occasional virtuoso in a company, you need to be sure that they do not become a complete maverick and ignore the high standards that you need to maintain your firm's reputation.
As a business owner, it is your responsibility to find out where the strengths and weaknesses in your organisation lie. These weaknesses can only serve to have a negative impact on your standards of best practice - and they may appear in forms that you have not anticipated. Inter-colleague relationships, lack of knowledge and even the personal circumstances of some of your staff can all have a bearing on the way business is conducted on a daily basis. However, in-house training can help to ensure that everyone is aware of their responsibilities to themselves, each other and to the company as a whole.
