• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Adam Kirk Smith

- A. Smith Blog - Leadership in Life

  • The Bravest You
  • Blog
    • Leadership
    • Communication
    • Creativity
    • Focus
    • Relationships
  • Podcasts & Video
    • Podcast: Live Life with Purpose
    • Podcast: Ideas with Adam Smith
    • asmithvideo
  • Coaching & Consulting
  • Speaking

employers

employees

Adam Smith | May 17, 2019 | Leave a Comment

14 Best Ways for Employers to Develop Their Employees

This is a guest post from Kamy Anderson. He is an ed-tech enthusiast with a passion for writing on emerging technologies in the areas of corporate training and education. He is an expert in learning management system & eLearning authoring tools, currently associated with ProProfs Training Maker.

Employee training is one of the most important factors for organizational success, as it helps a workforce enhance their skills and reach their maximum potential. It is how they continually learn and grow, making them more satisfied with their jobs. And you know that happy employees are productive employees.

Moreover, a 2018 Skills Gap Report by Udemy shows that 51% of employees would leave a company if it doesn’t provide them with necessary training. Facilitating regular learning will also help you retain your employees.

With that in mind, take a look at the top 14 ways to train your employees and help them grow:

1. In-House Classes and Seminars

In-house classes held by professional instructors are helpful in creating customized employee training aligned with your core values and goals. The same goes for onsite seminars.

Both of these learning and development programs are very cost-effective, as you can train your entire workforce inside your company walls.

2. Business Classes at Colleges and Universities

Many colleges and universities, as well as lots of technical schools, provide various business classes for professional learning and development.

You don’t have to worry about your employees missing work because business classes are held in the evening and over the weekend.

3. Professional Associations Seminars and Conferences

Professional association seminars and conferences are useful in furthering your employees’ careers and upgrading their skills.

What’s more, they can stay on top of industry trends, and learn all about the latest methods and principles for better performance.

4. Workshops

Professional workshops are one of the best ways to develop your employees.

Not only will these workshops aid your staff in gaining more knowledge and enhancing their skills, but they’ll also give people an opportunity to network, improve communication skills, and strengthen their professional relationships.

5. Mentoring Programs

Mentoring programs can empower employees in that they get an opportunity to work closely with professionals who can truly help them learn the trade and grow.

Mentors or work buddies can share expertise, and provide the right kind of support that, for instance, new employees need to perform at their best.

6. Coaching

Coaching creates positive work experiences and facilitates open communication necessary for effective employee performance. It pushes workers in the right direction for achieving your company’s goals.

Hire a business coach who knows how to prioritize the goals and select the right path to achieving them. A qualified coach can help your employees complete their tasks efficiently and effectively.

7. Creating a Book Club

Coming up with a book club at work will enable your workers to learn new concepts, and share ideas and knowledge with one another. They’ll strengthen their relationships, improve their communication skills, and practice leadership roles.

You can provide them with business books for improving their skills, but also let them recommend books. Determine the reading deadline, make a schedule for in-person discussion, and make sure everyone’s ideas are heard.

8. Online Training Courses

Utilizing employee training software to create and deliver online training courses allows employees to learn anytime, anywhere.

You’ll also be able to monitor their progress in real time, and jump in whenever someone needs help.

9. Inspiring A Learning Environment

Create a learning environment in your organization that inspires your workforce to learn and grow continually. Communicate your expectations clearly, and motivate your employees constantly to work smarter.

You can also create a relaxing room where they can engage in their book club reading or dive into other resources for training.

10. Access to Professional Resources

Give your employees access to a professional library, or create an online knowledge base that they can access 24/7, on any device.

Making various professional resources available anytime and anywhere will help them learn at their own pace, and save them a lot of time on research.

11. Facilitating Everyday Learning

Make sure you make employee training a part of each workday. Encourage your employees to engage in your online courses every day, and offer them work-time support for learning.

12. Flexible Work Schedule

Enable flexible work schedules so that your workforce can actually have the time for training and development. They will need this time for all the classes, workshops, and seminars you’ve prepared for them.

13. Free Conferences and Professional Association Memberships

If you organize professional association seminars and conferences, make sure you pay for memberships and conference attendance. If you don’t, you may not motivate all your workers to attend. Those events are crucial for their training and development.

14. College Tuition Reimbursement

If you offer your employees an opportunity to attend business classes at colleges and universities, make sure you cover their tuition. If they need to provide any out-of-pocket payments during their courses, you should reimburse those as well after each semester. College tuition reimbursement will motivate your employees to enroll in business courses, which is important, especially if some of them cannot afford to pay for the classes themselves.A

5 Skills Employers Want to Have in Your Resume

Adam Smith | February 22, 2019 | Leave a Comment

5 Skills Employers Want to Have in Your Resume

This is a guest post from Kurt Walker. He has been a copywriter and an editor and a copywriter at https://www.brillassignment.co.uk in London for over 3 years. He has an intense interest in such topics as technology, education, productivity, and inspiration, and is a journalist and content writer at AustralianWritings and paperwritingpro.com.

So, you decided to start hunting for a new job? How exciting! You’re about to close one door and start an entirely new journey. You have the courage, and you definitely have the enthusiasm to approach the process. But do you have the skills?

First, let’s start with writing skills. Do you have them? You’ll have to write a resume, so a certain level of writing skills is absolutely necessary. Of course, you could rely on a resume writing service to get that part covered. But even then, you’re the one who provides instructions for the writers. 

You are the person presented in that resume, so you have to step up with an impressive skill set. 

Understand What Hiring Managers Are Looking For

Let’s try to get into the shoes of someone in the HR department. This is a person who is responsible for the company’s human resources. Their hiring decisions are directly connected with the growth of the organization. Needless to say, they want the best people on their team. 

This is also a very busy person. A single job search attracts between 75 and 250 applications on average. Do you think the hiring manager is going to review all those application in detail? Nope. They will only give a few seconds of their time to most applications.

The Skills

We’re not talking about the specific type of experience that the job application calls for. If you’re applying to be a nurse, you clearly need all skills related to that profession. 

But in addition to the job-related skills, employers want to see universal skills that apply to workers in all industries. Let’s see what those skills are:

  1. Resilience

Did you stay with a particular organization or team when times were rough? If you went through such an experience, you should mention it by all means. 

Staying with an organization when everyone else is thinking about giving up–that’s commitment. It shows that you are not there just for the money. You accept that life gets hard at times, and you’re willing to go through those periods like a champ.

But, you’re not just going to write “I’m resilient” on your resume, or list “resilience” under the Skills section. That doesn’t tell the employer anything. You want to support this claim with an experience. Get into specifics!

2. Self-Confidence

Writing a resume means writing about yourself. In that aspect, you’re worried that too much “me, me, me” makes you look arrogant. So you’re thinking: “Maybe I should be humbler?”

Oh, no!

There’s no space for humility on your resume. This is about you. This is about showing how you’re better than all the other candidates. Of course, you won’t write “I’m the only one with this certificate, these skills, and this personality. If you don’t hire me, your company is doomed.” 

You will, however, write about your best achievements. You’ll show you believe in yourself and you’re ready to work towards a bright professional future. 

Here’s the thing: you don’t list self-confidence anywhere as a skill. The hiring manager should see your resume conveys it, without specifically mentioning it. Whatever you write on your resume, it must be supported with facts and examples. 

3. Problem-Solving Skills

Did you have an essential role in problem-solving processes? Let’s say your previous team got stuck. Or, information leaked. Or, a competitive brand launched something really similar right before your product was scheduled to launch. But you came up with a really cool solution to upgrade the project and managed to solve an even bigger problem through adversity.

If you’re a great problem-solver, you will be able to recall of such situations. But be careful! If you list this skill in the resume, you should show how exactly you’ve implemented it. Here’s how that would look:

“Implemented new marketing procedures, reducing bounce rates by 40% and boosting sales by 15%.”

See? Specifics. 

4. Commitment to Learning

When the hiring manager reviews the applications, they have an important question in mind: “What candidate is happy to learn more in order to be effective in this job?” 

A great HR professional doesn’t solely care about filling the spot. They want to hire someone who will grow within the organization. That’s why your commitment to learning is crucially important.

Show you’re willing to learn! Start taking relevant online courses and list the certificates you get. That’s solid proof that you are a great learner.

5. Communication Skills

Are you a good culture fit? If you’re a communicative person, who can easily make connections with new people, employers will want to hire you. They will evaluate your oral communication skills during the interview, and your resume and cover letter will convey your written communication skills. 

employers employees respect

Adam Smith | October 17, 2016 | Leave a Comment

Employers, Please Show Some Respect

 

respect – a feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way

 

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the word, ‘respect.’ What it means, how it makes people feel, and what the ramifications are when people don’t feel it for themselves and when people don’t show it to others. A lack of respect damages the very core of a team’s function and only hurts work culture. So, in an effort to increase respect in the workplace, here are three ways that employers can be more respectful:

[Read more…] about Employers, Please Show Some Respect

Primary Sidebar

The Bravest You by Adam Kirk Smith

Podcast: Ideas

Ideas with Adam Smith Logo

Podcast: Live Life with Purpose

Life With Purpose Podcast Icon

Youtube: ASmithVideo

asmithvideo icon

Latest Posts

  • Books and Other Stuff
  • Close Listening & Other Customer Service Strategies
  • How Word-of-Mouth Marketing Can Generate More Leads
  • How to Thrive in the Digital Age When You Think It’s Overrated
  • How to Use Content to Drive B2B Lead Generation

Footer

Featured Product

The Bravest You by Adam Kirk Smith

Podcast: Ideas

Ideas with Adam Smith Logo

Podcast: Live Life with Purpose

Life With Purpose Podcast Icon

Adam Smith · Leadership in Life · asmithblog.com © 2022 · Adam Kirk Smith's blog on leadership, relationships, communication, creativity, and focus.

  • The Bravest You
  • Blog
  • Podcasts & Video
  • Coaching & Consulting
  • Speaking