How do YOU operate? Minimum Standards or Best Practice?
At what stage should you compromise on quality, in whatever you do? I have long been an advocate of ‘Best Practice’ as opposed to ‘Minimum Standards’ and the majority of people I speak to, agree wholeheartedly with that opinion… yet why, on so many levels do we insist on merely going through the motions, to ‘tick-the-box’ without giving any real thought to the outcome?
Now before the accountants and financiers of this world shoot me down in flames, yes I know and understand there is only so much in the budget (though I would question where and how thought out that budget was initially) and that stakeholders want to see a return on their investment, but how many budgets are simply ‘made-up-numbers’? It’s a forecast! It’s based on what you think will happen, what the market forces, say (think) will happen and it is based on previous past history and an attempt to see into the future. In effect, it’s a guess!
I well remember when I was in a Sales Team being given my budget and sales target for the following year. On questioning how my Manager, at the time, had arrived at the figures (which were out of proportion with realism), he started to explain they were all calculated after in-depth analysis. Upon further questioning, he admitted he had plucked a figure out of the sky and added 10%!! Madness!
The main issue I have with forecasting budgets and targets is that those that hold the purse strings remain inflexible throughout the year, reviewing performance against targets but never changing the budget or target, given the impact of external forces, such as the market, economic influences and in many industries, environmental impact. I am not for one moment suggesting we shouldn’t be setting targets, goals and budgets, but always be prepared to review and adjust them mid-term. Consider the LOSS IN BUSINESS that could occur if there was a prime investment opportunity, but you limited your budget because the ‘made up’ forecast said you can only spend £x,000 per month!
Now, budgets and targets aside, wouldn’t you agree that you should strive for the best quality and aim for the best of everything that you possibly can? Again, I’m not suggesting that you are wasteful, and squander capital, but have a clear vision of the outcome that you want to achieve and then follow the best process to get there. If you have a sound process then the outcome will take care of itself.
How much TRAINING actually does DEVELOP People? Minimum Standards = Minimum Development.
When it comes to training staff, clearly it would follow that you would strive to get the best trainers that you possibly can. How do you deem them to be the best? Well in essence, a trainer must have two major qualities.
- Knowledge/Experience of the subject taught
- The ability to impart that knowledge in such a way that it is clearly understandable
It has not gone unnoticed in the past couple of years of the amount of ‘fast track’ courses that potential trainers can attend, sometimes less than one day in duration, gain a certificate that says they have attended and off they go passing this new-found knowledge on, with little or no previous experience, and with the delegates attending the course, totally unaware of the lack of experience the so-called trainer has! By attending just a couple of half or one-day courses you can apparently be ‘qualified’ to train Manual Handling, Health & Safety and Personal Safety, as an example, without ever having previous experience in these areas! Astounding really, when you think about it. Therefore the question must be asked, how important is ‘Experience’?
Climb the ladder of EXPERIENCE.
Consider you are going into hospital for an operation. Which surgeon would you prefer, the one that finished medical school last week and this is their first operation, or the surgeon that has been carrying out similar operations for the past 10 years. Both, however, are ‘qualified’!
You’re about to have root canal treatment on your troublesome tooth! Which dentist would you prefer, the one that has carried out thousands of similar treatments, or the dentist that passed their final exam last week? Again, both are ‘qualified’!
This of course occurs in every walk of life and experience will be gained on a daily basis, but why compromise your business and livelihood by cutting costs severely and leaving your employees at potential risk of being ‘uneducated’? Remember, ignorance is no defence!
A large organisation that I have worked with for many years had largely built their success on bringing in specific external trainers to train their staff, using the specialised skill set of the external trainer. In a move to ‘cut costs’ the internal training team that previously have been used as trainers for ‘generic’ company areas have now been fast tracked to deliver First Aid, Manual Handling, Health & Safety, Personal Safety (surprisingly, they don’t train on breakaway and/or restraint, as their policy is to de-escalate issues before restraint is required… even though they sometimes work in an environment of customers with mental health illness. They are of course leaving themselves wide-open to criminal charges, should an incident occur)!! Sadly, and possibly due to having grown too quickly without the right infrastructure in place and poor leadership in some departments, they have resorted to ‘ticking-the-box’ as opposed to quality, sustainable, suitable and sufficient training programmes.
Is there any REAL value in ‘Ticking-The-Box’?
The term ‘sheep dipping’ is used where all employees are put through a programme, regardless of whether it’s individually needed or not, purely so that when they undergo an inspection, they can show the boxes, duly ‘ticked’. Remember, as with anything in life, you are only as strong as your weakest link.
How do YOU operate? Minimum Standards or Best Practice?
Has it cut costs? Yes, undoubtedly, as they potentially have no external training costs and so the procurement department are overjoyed in the budget preservation! Has it benefitted employees? That remains to be seen, but of course, just one issue and an ongoing legal investigation could result in court appearances, fines and potentially custodial sentences. Remember, when you appoint trainers, certainly to train on ‘legally-bound issues’, please ensure they are giving advice that is currently legally accurate and that they are trained to a ‘suitable & sufficient’ level to deliver that information. The balance sheet may look great and as a Manager who appoints these trainers, be prepared to have pats on your back for saving the company money…. but also be prepared to face the law courts, should an incident occur that happened as a result of putting cost before quality.
Aversely, another organisation I work with has seen tremendous growth, certainly over the past ten years, and in a market that is currently declining, continues to show year on year growth. Their staff retention, again, in an industry that traditionally has high staff turnover is well below the national average and it will not surprise you to learn that they have a robust, first class training department, using external trainers across all skill sets. The training delivered is reviewed on a regular basis and continually tweaked and updated to provide the delegates with their specific training requirements. Employees can clearly see a progression through the company, should they choose to seek promotion, and feel part of the whole team rather than a payroll number. The training costs to deliver this training are staggering, so why do they do it? Well their return more than outweighs their expenditure. You see, they consider training costs as an investment in their business rather than a necessity. They also want the very best return on their investment and by providing the best quality training possible ensure that this part of the jigsaw is taken care of. Virgin Atlantic are another organisation that invests heavily in their training, even when the market is strained and on a downturn… their philosophy is, when the market picks up again, they are ready and waiting to capitalise! Perhaps it’s no wonder they are the benchmark in the aviation industry.
What is a successful life? An accumulation of good days!
Which returns to my original question… At what stage should you compromise on quality? Review your own organisation, perhaps the one you work for. What quality has been compromised, purely on a cost basis and how does that reflect on the organisations investment in staff? We are constantly told that employees are the life-blood of organisations, so by providing poor quality training, how good do the employees feel about themselves and their ‘worth’ to the company?!
Food for thought, indeed, and something to consider over the next few months.
Feel free to drop us a line and share YOUR experiences of Best Practice.
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