Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First

In my last post, I presented the idea of conducting a needs analysis and determining your return on investment (ROI) for any prospective training initiative(s). While many business owners believe in training, they should still run the numbers before doing so.

So, what areas of training are most beneficial for a small business? That’s not as straightforward a question to answer as you might think. You see, small businesses typically don’t have many of their processes and procedures recorded or a large organizational chart. The owner is usually the source of the most know-how from the best way to conduct a certain function to the history of certain clients to whom to call to order certain supplies. In fact, the owner is probably mired in much of the day-to-day functioning of the company. Often, the owner is the business.

So let’s start with the owner.

One of the most important skills for an owner to master is time management. There are numorous books and courses on time management: I’ve read them, taken them, and even developed and even delivered some. The one thing a book or course on time management won’t address is too much work or the proverbial 12 pounds of potatoes for a 10-pound sack. It might be worth examining how efficient you are day to day. For one week, keep track of how you are allocating your time. Use your smart phone calendar or a day planner. Keep track of every hour and review your results at the end of the week. Think about whether this was the best way to allocate your time. If not, it might be time for some time management or personal effectiveness training.

Once you’ve looked at your own time management, delegation is the next skill to address. For many small business owners, there is no one to delegate to. In today’s techno-digital world, a good solution for a small business owner might be a virtual assistant. These experienced professionals work remotely and handle the same tasks an executive or administrative assistant would handle in your office. A quick online search will yield a number of companies who offer this service. Pricing varies, as does the nature of the arrangement (retainer, per hour). Once you have a person to whom you can delegate—do it! Many business owners have a tough time with this. They look at the short term investment of their time training the person how to do something rather than the long term savings once the person is up and running. Or they think/feel no one can do this better than they can—and they may be right, but that still doesn’t mean it’s the best way to handle the workload. If you find you are not giving work out to others or are still too involved in it, delegation training might do the trick.

A few more training topics I think are critical for any business have to do with culture. This includes the company’s vision, its mission, its core values, its product and service mix, and its target customer profile. These pieces become the core of an employee orientation program. Even the smallest business would benefit by offering some context to new employees. These pieces can even help with the screening/hiring process for new employees.

Developing a company vision and mission does not take long and provides focus for all employees. Identifying the company’s core values helps you screen for like-minded employees and helps them make better decisions once on-board. Clearly stating what the company does and whom the company serves are critical components for new employees to understand.

Once the owner takes care of the big picture, an operations manual (this can also be called a policies and procedures manual) is a good next step to address from a training perspective. This is a powerful tool for the owner to create as it can help streamline and improve operations and identify best practices for the company (you might even learn a thing or two). Everyone should know what are the rules and the penalties for breaking them. An operations manual sets expectations for employee performance and is the bar against which performance is measured. Spelling out policies and procedures can also minimize employee confusion and issues and the time managers spend resolving them.

Take care of yourself first. We’ll tackle training your staff next time.