Employee Training Part III – Continuing Education

In Part I of our Employee Training Series we talked about Field Training. In Part II we talked about the perfect New Employee Orientation to get your employees started out right. In this third and final part of the series I’ll talk about how to develop outstanding employees over time through continuing education.

So you have an employee, or several, at this point. They’re trained in your processes and they’re out on their own and doing great! What now? Do you sit back and remain hands off until a question, or more likely a problem, arising that requires you to intervene? The truth is, you can do this and you’ll probably be okay. Your employees will come to you when they need you and you’ll provide guidance specific to their immediate need. There’s nothing wrong with this approach but in doing so you’ll miss a valuable opportunity, that of helping your employees, and your business, grow intellectually.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” He saw the value in lifelong learning. As an individual, we have a duty to keep learning but as a leader and manager we have the additional duty of helping those around us keep learning as well.

So how do you go about doing this with your pet care employees? Here’s just a few ideas to get you started.

National industry association often offer on-line courses in a variety of topics related to the industry. For example, NAPPS, the National Association for Professional Pet Sitters, offers on-line courses on everything from how to care for a senior dog to how to take care of a parrot. Courses are often reasonably priced and can be purchased whether you’re a card carrying member of the organization or not.

Pet first aid and CPR is a core competency for those working in the pet care industry and you can easily obtain this training for your employees either through on-line course offerings or through organizations that will work with you to provide an instructor in your area.

Don’t discount your own or your employee’s expertise. Training can be a simple as picking a topic and having yourself of one of your employees deliver a short, or not so short, introduction and explanation to your group.

Training doesn’t have to be a speech. Start an article of the month tradition. Send a new and informative relevant article out to your employees and then ask for feedback on what the thought of it and what they took away from it.

This list is far from complete. This is where you, as a small business owner, can put on your creativity cap and come up with new areas of learning that can both better and motivate your employees. And don’t forget to use another great source of ideas, your employees themselves! Engaging them in the process of their own learning by letting them drive the topics is sure to light a fire in them.

Now go out there and teach your way to a stronger better business!