If your people are the biggest asset to your agency, effectively training them is the key to agency management. Proper agency training is more than just tossing someone an employee handbook. There is a comprehensive science behind what should go into an agency training program to protect your investment in your people. In this article, we’ll tell you how to effectively train people and why that training is so important.
Why Does Training Matter?
There are a variety of reasons why providing effective agency training is one of the best agency management techniques you can use. Here are a few:
It Keeps Everyone Up to Date
Many industries are fast-paced and ever-evolving, and it is important to stay up to date on things that are constantly changing. Agency training gives your employees the opportunity to experience a unified approach to development, which is important for strengthening your corporate culture.
It Gives Employees Confidence
Learning more about a topic will boost your employees’ confidence in their ability to deal with issues on the subject. Training doesn’t always have to be scheduled group sessions or intensive one-on-ones. Even simply providing your staff with regular information and data can help them feel more like a subject matter expert.
It Drives Better Results
Agency training can only mean better results for your business. No employee ever performed worse because they were overtrained. With enhanced knowledge and more confidence in their abilities, your team is likely to produce much better work that leads to happier clients and a healthier bottom line.
It Helps With Retention
Those with experience in agency management know how expensive talent acquisition is. It is far more economical to nurture and grow your existing employees as a long-term investment. When you provide ample and effective training, you are showing your employees that you see their worth. It is also important to use training opportunities to demonstrate the potential for career progression within your agency. A well-rounded training program can unlock potential in your staff and lead to a greater range of responsibilities for them, which helps keep them with your business rather than looking for new roles outside.
It Improves Your Agency’s Reputation
Since robust training improves your employees’ morale, client satisfaction, and performance results, it goes without saying that training can affect your agency’s reputation. When your employees brag about the great company they work for or your clients tell a peer how happy they are with you, each conversation is getting you closer to your next new client. Keeping your team trained and up to date on trends positions you as an industry leader.
Ways to Effectively Train
Now that you understand why you should prioritize agency training, let’s talk about how to do it effectively.
Create a Training Calendar
A robust and well-planned agency training should begin with a calendar that lays out a step-by-step roadmap of where the employee will start and end up. Clear expectations are an essential part of agency management, and training should be no exception. Putting a training calendar in place not only puts a structure in place for training and reduces the chances of something falling through the cracks, it also gives the employee the opportunity to visualize what is expected of them as it pertains to training.
Create and Use SOPs
Standard Operating Procedures are a useful tool in agency management, and they can be extremely beneficial when it comes to agency training. While there will always be exceptions to the rule, SOPs can be a helpful reference for how to carry out specific operations within the agency. Memorizing each SOP shouldn’t be the goal, but each new employee should spend time with the SOP manual to get familiar with the contents so they know exactly where to go if they have a question. Current employees should also make an SOP review part of their regular annual training.
Find Creative Ways to Train
Not everyone learns in the same way. When you are developing training programs for your agency, keep this in mind. A comprehensive training program will present material in a variety of ways. Don’t be afraid to get creative or employ the help of an agency that can help you design a series of concise, informative, and creative training videos. Training varied in length and format will keep your employees engaged and more likely to retain the information.
Train Like A Pro
If your agency training program needs a jumpstart, the experienced and motivated team at 8 Figure Agency is here to guide and support you. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how to take you to the next level of agency management.
