Are the most important people in your business ignored?
Wednesday, 13th April 2011
It took quite a while to come up with a short, punchy description of what we at trainingreality do, but eventually we refined it to the following:
helping people work better with people
and we're pretty pleased with it - it captures the essence of what we're about. It also helps us to explain why we think it's so important that we work with some of the most neglected people in business - those people who work in manufacturing, production, warehousing, distribution and logistics.
These areas can, in some organisations, be seen as the less "sexy" bit of the business. I would hazard an educated guess that the majority of interpersonal skills training goes on with sales teams, marketing departments, customer service organisations and management teams, and that it's a very significant majority. The bulk of training that seems to take place for the people who actually make the stuff that is sold is practical and functional (in the basic sense of those words): how the production line works, what goes wrong, how to fix it, and so on. I think there are a number of in-built reasons why it's done like this:
- they need to be in the factory: it's easier to give the sales team a couple of days "off" to train and develop themselves than it is to give the same to a production team - who will run the lines in their absence? Because it might be a bit trickier is not a good enough excuse!
- they work with machines, not people: only partly true of course; they work with both, and teamwork, leadership, great communication and management are absolutely essential within a production team.
- Their work is routine, so they just need technical skills: absolute rubbish! if (when?) a line goes down at 3am, everyone in the office leadership team is in bed, do you really want to leave the issue to a group with underdeveloped teamwork and problem-solving skills?
...and probably many more
I would argue, and do, strongly, that it is vital that production teams are given the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills. They work in close-knit teams, often in tough environments at unsociable hours, and under a great deal of pressure. Their ability to cope with these circumstances successfully depends as much on their people skills and personal development as it does on technical skills.
Your production, manufacturing and operational teams are at the very heart of your business (even if they are outsourced!). Why would you underestimate the value of investing in their personal development as compared to your "front line" sales and marketing teams?
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We work with, and are passionate about working with, the people who make and ship the stuff that businesses need. We can help them do it better, every day. Get in touch.
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