Are you an Investor in People?

‘Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.’

The other day someone asked me where they could get help to implement ‘Investors in People’.

I replied with a question of my own, ‘What are you trying to achieve?’ 

‘A plaque on the wall? Ratification that your people practices meet their standard? Or a highly engaged, high performing team?’

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big supporter of any organisation that’s focused on improving how people lead and develop their people, but the end in mind should always be the highly engaged team…and better results for the business.

That’s what effective training and development will deliver for you - individual and team growth, which builds a high performing team, which delivers business growth.

That’s the only way you can truly judge the effectiveness of your 3 essential People systems - hiring, training and performance management.

Yes, there can be indirect measurements like fewer days off sick, a better atmosphere in the team, less time spent re-doing their work, but these aren’t ends in themselves. 

It’s all about the bottom line - that’s why you’re in business.

[For those who struggle with that concept, remember that the more money you make, the more people you can employ and develop, the more people you can help - so it’s not all about your bank account!]

And the good news is, it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg to train your people. Yes, some training will need to be done sheep dip /classroom style, to the whole team, maybe even outsourced, but the most effective training & development can be done by you - everyday - on the job.

Here are my magnificent seven ways to develop your team:

*Catch them doing something right and praise them publicly
- development by positive reinforcement

*See someone doing something wrong and show them how to do it to your standard, giving them the reasons why you want it done that way
- teaching them how to get it right first time, next time

*Share your vision and your story so far with new team members
- so they buy-in to your goals

*Involve team members in your planning process
- they learn the ‘why’ as well as the ‘what’ improving ownership and commitment

*Ask the team to agree, the most simple, logical and repeatable way of doing what you do, to serve the customer
- teaching them the importance of consistency and customer service

*Take team members out to meet Customers and suppliers
- they learn how their work adds value and fits into the bigger picture

*Ask your team members for their opinions on how you can improve your customer experience
- shows them that you value their opinion

Do one thing: Pick just one of the seven today (or the next day you’re with the team and try it out), maybe one you have never tried before, and watch for the improvement in the engagement of your team.

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk
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