Training as an Incentive

Training as an Incentive Samuel Warren IS469 - Information Security Capstone Dan Morrill City University June 6, 2012   Training as an Incentive Executive Summary In the busy environment of corporate America, there is a real need to understand and foster ongoing training. When employers approach employees about training, what attitude is displayed? If it is an attitude of fear, cynicism, or disgust, there may be an issue with how the employer treats training. By implementing some simple incentives and creating a safe environment, employers can radically change the atmosphere of their company. Introduction Without a doubt, the biggest need in any IT group is ongoing training. Depending on the field, the training could be extremely expensive, or low to no cost. However, the need is indelibly linked to the success of the individual employee and the organization at large. If one wants to have a successful company, one must invest in the people working in the company. With that said, there are some key ways to ensure investment makes an impact outlined herein. Incentives to Grow The old paradigm, “You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink” is a relevant saying with regards to employee growth. One of the major issues employers need to understand is the paycheck alone is often not enough for employees to be satisfied with their jobs. While some may get a certain level of satisfaction from their salary, others have a driving desire to grow and expand beyond what they do everyday. Employers need to recognize and do something about that. Depending on the company and the size of the budget, this can be as simple as giving a token gift, like an employee of the month award or an award for excellence. The key is to know what an incentive is for the employees. For example, if it is coffee then simply giving a gift card to the local coffee house may be just enough of an encouragement to create a desire to grow. Then simply set a goal of accomplishment anyone in your group can meet and challenge them to grow. This will enable them to utilize newly learned tools and techniques in the workplace. Employee Initiative While employers can create incentives, there are also those employees who simply will not attempt to grow. In those cases, the employer should focus their attention on coaching the employee to understand the need for growth. A stagnant employee leads to a deficiency of creative juices and a loss of daily positive productivity. Career management through proper training provides employees with vision, opportunities, increased individual creativity and a renewed sense of energy and purpose. (K Alliance) However, at some point, the employee needs to take some initiative. The employee should feel empowered to come to their manager and outline a plan of growth and suggest an incentive without feeling like they are unheard or unwanted. Employers need to understand they are here to serve the employees, not the other way around. That said, they need to be receptive to the more vocal employees and try to draw information out of the less vocal employees. Another way to further garner employee initiative is by mutual inclusion. This is the concept of taking the group of people who are constantly fighting change and including them first. If an employee has been a vocal opponent of previous projects, by including them early and actually using their feedback, the employer can create an overall attitude of innovation and growth. By harnessing the opponents, the employers are able to not only control any negative feedback or lack of growth, but also they are in fact enticing those vocal opponents into growing and sharing growth. Share the Praise, Shoulder the Blame Finally, all employers should have a basic level of understanding around team leadership dynamics. By that, a manager should be trained to understand the team is only as good as its weakest link. Then have the manager work with their weakest human link and focus their attention on growing that person. Then the managers need to create a safe environment to fail and learn. By taking all the blame and freely sharing the praise, the managers show the employees they are a part of the team and they can fail without fear of someone pointing them out specifically and making them the target of public ridicule.   References K Alliance. (n.d.). Training is the Bridge to Employee Growth, Work Force Maturity and Sustained Productivity. Retrieved from KAlliance Press Play for Success: http://www.kalliance.com/articles/training-is-the-bridge-to-employee-growth.htm