Multiple industries must follow compliance laws and regulations. Not doing so could result in receiving a citation, which leads to further problems. As a responsible owner, you want to do everything you can to avoid having an industry or government agency cite your business.As a responsible owner, you want to do everything you can to avoid having an industry or government agency cite your business. This is one reason why online training courses are a critical tool at your disposal. When you use the best source of material, you can avoid costly consequences.

Staying compliant means your organization conforms to set regulations, policies, and laws. The goal is to meet all mandated compliance requirements to avoid receiving a citation. A violation is bad enough, but in response to that, a lot of negative things can happen. You need to understand that compliance regulations, policies, and laws cover many areas, including internet use, financials, manufacturing processes, materials and substances used, human resource policies, importing and exporting, employee safety, and more.

For your business, it is critical to learn what regulations, policies, and laws apply and then make any necessary changes to ensure it is 100 percent compliant. For companies based in the United States, employers can visit the Small Business Administration website, which provides a single point of access to information and government services to help them remain compliant.

OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) dates back to 1970. Congress created this organization to ensure safe and healthy working conditions through a set of enforceable standards. To accomplish those goals, OSHA develops extensive training materials, offers outreach programs, educates employers, and helps both employers and workers whenever needed.

Compliance enforcers and requirements vary to some degree depending on the type of industry and the regulation, policy, or law. However, keeping employees safe has no boundaries. Although the risk of injury is significantly higher for manual labor jobs, this is something that can happen even in a two-person office. For that reason, it is imperative that you adopt policies that guarantee compliance, thereby dramatically reducing the possibility of someone sustaining an injury at work.

Although OSHA has compliance mandates specific to different industries, all business owners should take the time to review the basic standards under “general industry.” This standard, known as 29 CFR 1910, serves as a foundation for a typical work environment.

Following are a few examples of the top OSHA violations.

Fall Protection (Construction) – While someone can fall and sustain an injury in any work environment, this risk affects the construction and similar industries the most. As a way of protecting workers from fall-related accidents, OSHA created two unique sets of standards. While one of the fall protection standards applies specific to the construction industry, the other is for all remaining industries.

Respiratory Protection – This compliance standard applies to industries with a risk of employee exposure to gasses, sprays, dust, smoke, fumes, or vapors. For compliance, employers must create, maintain, and enforce a protection program specific to respiratory accidents. They must provide workers with a proper correct breathing apparatus and train them on safe use and maintenance. Also, employers must monitor workers to ensure they follow instructions.

Hazard Communication – This OSHA standard helps prevent injuries to workers who are exposed to chemicals. For employers to remain compliant, they must create and implement a written program about hazard communication, including a list of all hazardous substances used by the company. Employers must also share this information with employees and provide training on dangerous substances, the proper use of chemicals, and the appropriate steps to take for protection.

Other OSHA standards cover electrical wiring, scaffolding, ladders, machine guarding, powered industrial trucks, and more.

OSHA even has compliance mandates in place for employee medical records. Under section 1910.1020, employees, their designated representatives, and government officials should always have access to specific records for both exposure and medical care. According to this standard, approved requesters can gain access to files within a reasonable amount of time, at a reasonable place, and in a reasonable manner.

Along with reviewing the material provided by the Small Business Administration, you as a business owner should perform self-inspections on a consistent basis to ensure your company is 100 percent compliance. For instance, inspect walkways to make sure they are clutter-free. Also, have a nonslip material applied to the floor, fill any cracks and holes, remove any protruding or sharp objects, clean up spilled materials immediately, and so on.

For employee safety, regardless of the size of your company or industry, remain compliant with OSHA standard 1910.36-37 for emergency and fire prevention action plans. Included in that are a fire alarm system, fire suppression system, nonlocking doors, more than two exit routes, clearly marked exits, and more. Along with developing and implementing a plan for compliance, you must disseminate the information to all workers.

Potential Consequences of a Compliance Citation

If your company is noncompliant with OSHA and other enforceable standards, you could receive a fine up to $10,000, depending on the specific violation. Especially if you have a smaller business or have only recently launched one, a single citation could prove disastrous.

There are also criminal penalties to consider. For instance, a citation for wrongful disclosure can result in a fine of as much as $250,000. In fact, imprisonment is a consequence for some violations. Not only that, but releasing nondisclosure information or not maintaining HIPAA compliance could cost you millions of dollars in fines.

Citations could have a severe impact on the reputation of your company, as well. You could struggle to find employees willing to work for you out of fear of sustaining an injury or worse. There is also the risk of losing customers. As you can see, staying compliant is critical for the safety of your employees and the success of your business.

Go1 is the leading source for online training courses, including those that cover every compliance topic imaginable. As they are created and often presented by industry and government experts, you learn directly from someone with extensive knowledge. Visit our site today for courses on compliance issues to protect your workers and business.

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How online training can help prevent employer citations

Got an important job interview coming up? It’s normal to feel a bit anxious before (and during!) an interview.

But while nerves are certainly a normal part of the interview process, you don’t want anxiety to get in the way of you getting the job.

After all, there’s nothing more frustrating than knowing that you have the right skills and experience to do the job, only to have things fall apart during the interview.

If you get super nervous at the thought of attending an interview, these tips can help you feel more relaxed and confident, so you can deliver your best performance on the day.

Preparation is key to nailing any interview.

When should you start your preparation? As soon as you find out your application has been successful!

Scott Wagstaff, Managing Director of Audrey Page & Associates, is full of insightful advice when it comes to knowing what employers are looking for and how interviewees can make a good impression.

Wagstaff’s first piece of advice is to make sure you tailor your CV or resume for the particular job.

“There is no ‘one size fits all’ resume these days,” explains Wagstaff. “You have to look specifically at what the job entails and try and put yourself in the seat of your future employer about what they are looking for in an employee.”

“Be really clear about what you’re good at and what you’re passionate about, because those are the things that the employer is interested in. If you love something you’re going to do a much better job than if you’re just ho-hum about it!”

In the preparation stage, Wagstaff recommends going to the employer’s website, looking at their ‘Careers’ page, and becoming familiar with the company’s vision, values and strategic intent. You can even have a look at their Annual Report.

“All that information helps you to build up a picture as to whether it’s the right job for you and also shows the employer that you have the motivation and curiosity they’re looking for. It’s a dating game, at the end of the day, in that both parties are happy with what’s happening moving forward.”

You can also use your preparation time to learn how to take charge of your nerves.

Luckily, there are some well-known strategies that many people use to help feel more calm, confident and collected during a job interview.

One of the best things you can do to feel more prepared on the day is to know about the STAR technique – a strategy that can help a lot with answering job interview questions.

The STAR method helps you create well-articulated, clear responses to interview questions that are based on competencies. The method is quite invisible to the listener, coming across as natural, but demonstrating to interviewers how you meet the criteria for each competency.

Situation – a brief description of the situation and context of the story (who, what, where, when, how)

Task – explain the task you had to complete, highlighting any challenges or constraints (e.g. deadlines, costs, other issues)

Action – describe the specific actions you took to complete the task

Result – close with the result of your efforts, including clear stats or figures to quantify the result if possible.

(Note: Wagstaff refers to this method as CAR, where the first point relates to Context.)

As part of your interview prep, create a pre-prepared list of responses that you can use when questioned on possible competencies or skills.

Our nerves tend to play up when we are caught unaware or have to think quickly on our feet. When you’ve already played over possible questions and scenarios in your head, you’ll be more able to respond in a calm and collected way.

You might also like to check out our previous article on how storytelling can be a powerful secret weapon when it comes to job interviews.

Engaging the interviewer by telling relevant stories that demonstrate your strengths can be a great way to make your interview more memorable and stand out from the competition.

Storytelling also shows employers your values. While having the necessary qualifications and experience are certainly important, employers are also interested in finding employees whose values are aligned with that of the business.

In an interview, you’re being given a wonderful opportunity to tell potential employers first-hand how your personal values can support the organisation’s mission and vision. Storytelling allows you to go into a lot more depth in this area, with personal or work-related stories giving insight into the core values that are uniquely important to you.

For example, you may be able to describe how overcoming a particular challenge helped you build greater resilience in the workplace, and how you can successfully apply that quality to the potential role. In this way, you can effectively demonstrate your values while building a stronger emotional connection with your interviewers.

Do all of the above and you’ll be feeling cool, calm, collected and ready to show hiring managers why you’re a valuable asset to their team and organisation. Good luck!

Tips you need to read before your next interview

At some point, all managers will be faced with an employee who is difficult to deal with, has trouble working with colleagues, or continually fails to hit their KPIs and deliver.

Knowing how to deal with these kinds of issues can be tricky. But addressing challenging employee behaviour should be a top priority for employers and managers.

It’s really important to nip any problems in the bud sooner rather than later, instead of assuming (or hoping!) that poor performance or behaviour will improve in time.

When addressing an issue with an employee, it can be helpful for managers to know the difference between performance and behaviour. Why is it so important to distinguish between the two?

Because differentiating between the two will affect the way in which you manage the situation.

Are you dealing with poor performance or behaviour?

Anna Pannuzzo, from HR consultancy Workplace Plus, explains how managers can tell the difference between a performance issue and a behaviour issue.

Telling the difference “is not easy,” admits Pannuzzo.

“Performance is generally aligned to an employee’s skills, abilities, and knowledge,” she explains.

In contrast, issues such as constantly being late, or sending an inappropriate email to a colleague, are behaviour issues.

Sometimes, an issue can be both performance and behavioural. For example, if part of your position description is to attend certain meetings, skipping out on those meetings will impact your deliverables and KPIs. In this way, an employee’s behaviour is having a negative effect on their job performance.

Negative behaviour or attitude can be trickier to address and fix than performance and skill-based problems. When individual staff members are displaying challenging behaviour at work, it impacts the organisation as a whole. In addition to stress and conflict, it can result in poor team performance, low productivity, and a negative work environment.

If left unchecked, challenging employee behaviour can also lead to higher absenteeism and staff turnover, affecting your company’s reputation and bottom line.

So what can you do to address poor performance or behavioural issues in the workplace?

Whether it’s performance or behaviour, it’s vital that employers and managers deal with it, quickly and professionally. Managers need to identify the expectations of what’s required, have a discussion and provide feedback if things aren’t being delivered accordingly.

Of course, being in a management position doesn’t mean that you’re instantly an expert on knowing how to raise issues with staff or give critical feedback. But rather than avoiding this part of your job, it’s important to get it done. In this way, leadership comes with a price – and a significant part of that price is the responsibility to give feedback, coach and address the performance of any team member that does not measure up to expectations. Doing this with your employees is also an opportunity for them to grow and learn.

The first step is to get it clear in your head whether the employee’s actions are coming from a performance or behavioural issue. This is a really important step to take before you can proceed to manage the problem.

If it is a skills issue, and therefore performance, then you’ll need to think about providing further training to your employee. You might also consider a mentoring or coaching solution. There may be limitations with inadequate tools, or software, or other problems with the workplace environment – these can then be reviewed and appropriately addressed. Similarly, if an employee is struggling to meet deadlines because of limited time, restructuring work tasks could be a solution. In all of these scenarios, you can see that it is not the behaviour or attitude of the employee that is the problem.

In terms of misconduct, or behavioural issues, this can be harder to address and fix. Ensure that you have a current position description that clearly outlines the duties of the position and the performance and behavioural expectations of the job. It’s important to have this serious discussion with the employee about their behaviour, so you can then identify a way to resolve it and come up with strategies to improve the situation.

In all cases, it’s also important to acknowledge that an employee may have personal or health problems that are affecting their ability to deliver. If so, Employee Assistance (EAP) counselling may be a good solution, to get to the bottom of the problem while providing your team member with the help they need.

If you’re looking for more guidance on this topic, there are plenty of courses on the Go1 platform that will help you better understand employee behaviour and give you the confidence you need to address any issues before they get out of hand.

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

When addressing an issue with an employee, it can be helpful for managers to know the difference between performance and behaviour. We'll explore the difference between employee performance and behaviour.

The difference between managing employee performance and behaviour

Multiple industries, including construction, medical, chemical, process manufacturing, automotive, and aviation must follow compliance laws. The purpose is to ensure businesses operate safely and efficiently. In addition to keeping workers safe, compliance is what helps different types of companies perform at an optimal level.

The question becomes when you should launch compliance training programs.

Whether you recently started a new business or have an existing company without any compliance training programs already implemented, you do not want to wait to start planning. The longer you go without providing your employees with the appropriate training, the more you expose your business to risks.

Keep in mind that setting up even one program does not happen overnight. It takes research and careful planning. Start by organizing a team to determine which training programs workers need to complete for your specific industry. Ultimately, these programs would apply if you have a publicly regulated business and have employees who work under stringent regulations.

It can take up to three weeks to gather all the pertinent information needed, another week to choose the appropriate online courses, and then 2-3 weeks for final planning. During this process, the goal is to understand the specific risks that your company faces, allowing you to select courses that address each of them.

The key to choosing online training courses is to have the information you need about compliance issues so that you can make a well-informed decision. As part of this, determine if you require every employee to go through training or select departments that are exposed to risk. Remember, compliance is not just about safety but also efficiency. Therefore, training covers multiple topics, including manufacturing processes, chemical handling, human resources, social media use, working with government agencies, and much more.

With all the necessary information gathered, now comes the fun part of selecting the required compliance training courses. When you deal with a reputable source, you can find compliance training on virtually anything you need. One particular company offers courses created and often presented by either industry or compliance experts. Also, because these courses generally take 30 minutes to an hour to complete, there is no disruption in business operations.

The Benefits of Compliance Training Programs

Newly Hired Employees – You can make compliance training mandatory as part of the orientation. Before starting official work, the new hire should take the required courses. If you have a group of new employees, you could have them all complete the training at the same time.

Existing Employees – The way you set up compliance training will depend on the number of workers you have. For a small business with 5-10 employees, you could have one individual at a time complete one or more courses to avoid disrupting workflow. For a large organization of 50 employees or more, you might consider setting up groups of 10 who can take the training together.

Hefty Fines – If enforcers of compliance laws find that your business is non-compliant, you could face hefty fines.

Insurance – Being non-compliant also puts your company at risk for either paying significant insurance premiums or having your current provider drop you.

Contracts – You know all the contracts that you and your team worked so hard to secure? If not compliant, there is a good chance of having them become unenforceable. In other words, all the hard work was for nothing because of invalid contracts. In addition to that, you could lose those customers and end up with a damaged reputation.

Tax Liability – There are even tax liability issues when non-compliant.

When should you plan to launch your compliance training programs?

When establishing a business, one of the first things you do is define the company values. Those values become the foundation on which you build everything. Whether hiring new employees or going over policies with existing workers, you educate them on what your values are and how they apply to the mission you want to achieve.

You might think that that is enough, which is a common mistake among business owners. There are times when you need to revisit your company values. In fact, you should revisit them regularly. Why? As you will discover with the information provided, there are many different reasons for doing this, which ultimately benefit you, your organization, your employees, and the customers you serve.

Keep in mind that reviewing your company values does not automatically mean you have to make changes. Even if you feel they need refining, changes are not necessarily significant. Do you need to revisit your company values? Absolutely and if it has been some time since you have done that, or you have never done it before, make this a priority.

From a customer’s perspective, the answer to several questions determines whether they buy from a particular company. For example, they want to know why a business exists, what makes it unique or better than its competitors, and why should they make a purchase with them. When you create core values for your business, you can answer these and other questions.

Virtually every aspect of your business revolves around the values you create. The goal is to establish core values, articulate them, and then put them into circulation. You want you prospective clients, existing customers, and even your competitors to know what your company stands for and why. Revisiting your values and making changes as needed also gives consumers a viable reason for choosing your business over another.

Expanding audience - If you initially thought your company would serve a specific group of consumers best, only to discover over time that your product or service has a much broader reach, the values you first set no longer apply. In that instance, they need modification.

Company acquisition – Instead of doing away with your company values as part of an acquisition, you want to find a compromise between the values of both organizations. While somewhat tricky, this is possible. In this situation, both companies need to agree on one set of values to prevent sending out mixed messages that could damage the business.

Employee education – You can have all the values in the world, but unless your employees know what they are and abide by them, they do not offer much. When creating values, consider the people who work on your different teams. What is important to them? What successes do they want to achieve? Companies cannot succeed without employees, so when creating values, keep them in mind. If your current values do not coincide with the aspirations of your workers, it is time to revisit them. You want values that your employees respect, believe in, and want to carry out on behalf of the company.

Times have changed – When it comes to changing times, think about technology as a prime example. If you started your business over 20 years ago, there is little chance that your initial values considered the advantages of modern day technology. Remember, you can maintain your core values, things like honesty, hard work, and integrity, but some of the other values need updating to go with the advances of today. Otherwise, people will have a difficult time relating to your business.

Attracting talent – Attracting talent is one of the most significant challenges that business owners face. Even if you offer an excellent salary and benefits package, people want more. The greatest talent wants to become a part of a team within a company that has strong or similar values. For this reason, it is imperative that you identify the things that the best talent wants from a company and adjust your values accordingly.

Establishing the company culture – In addition to making consumers eager to buy from your company, you want your workers to feel excited about the business and what it represents. As the owner, you have a unique opportunity to establish a culture within the work environment by revisiting your business values. When these align with employees and create deeper connections, you end up with teams that work harder and perform better.

You can even offer your employees different online training courses that address different aspects of company values by visiting the Go1 website. With that, they will gain a new understanding and appreciation when you modify company values. You too can complete courses to guide you through the process of making changes, when and if necessary.

Why you need to revisit your company values regularly

When talking about customer retention, this refers to actions and activities that your company takes to prevent customers from going to a different source to make a purchase. In other words, you want to build a base of as many viable customers as you can so that when interested in buying a product or service you sell, they visit your business first.

The number one reason that customer retention is essential for your business is that it builds loyal customers who return to your company time-after-time when interested in what you offer. The goal is to keep the existing customers you have or those you’ve already invested in through various marketing strategies.

When you consider that it costs five times more to acquire a prospect than it does to hang on to your current customers, you can see there is a significant cost-saving factor. In fact, for some industries, the cost to acquire a new customer jumps to a whopping 30 percent compared to focusing on existing customers. Think of it this way, for every 5 percent increase in customer retention, your profits rise between 25 and 95 percent.

Instead of making the mistake of thinking that you need to invest more money and time on prospects, recognize how vital customer retention is to your business growth. That doesn’t mean you should give up on trying to sway prospective customers. It’s just that you should give the majority of your attention to the ones you have.

There is a substantial cost difference between going after prospects and keeping your current customers. Because of that, you can scale back your marketing efforts, which saves you money. Something else to consider is that since your existing customer base is already familiar with the product or service you sell, you would not need as many people to provide customer support, which results in additional cost savings.

With customer retention, you will see an increase in repeat business, which equates to more generated profit. Not only do loyal customers return to a company they trust, but over time, they typically increase the amount they spend, up to 33 percent compared to newly acquired customers. Also, your existing customers are 50 percent more inclined to buy a new product or service from you.

A loyal customer is someone satisfied with your company, including your service, support, price, policy, and product or service offered. In their minds, your business cares about them and what they want. For that reason, it is essential that you conduct research and generate reports that indicate what it is your faithful customers buy. It is just as important to gather information periodically about what new offerings they would have an interest in purchasing.

When your customers buy something and feel completely satisfied, they will quickly share their experience with family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and almost anyone who will listen. For instance, a company that sells trendy and comfortable women’s shoes at a competitive price will attract people. Before long, you will see the same women coming back to buy more.

When happy with a purchase, women will tell everyone that your company is the place to go for incredible shoes at affordable prices. As a result, you benefit from word of mouth advertising without spending a dime. Look at recent statistics that show just how significant the impact of existing customers to your business.

Of all consumers in the United States, 49 percent say that family members and friends are their primary source of brand information.

When someone refers a friend to your business, that individual is four times more likely to purchase something from you.

As high as 92 percent of people trust a recommendation offered by a family member or friend.

Just one person spreading the news by mouth about your business is enough to drive sales up five times compared to paying for advertisements.

Retained customers who feel satisfied with your company are likely to refer other customers. That means spending less on marketing to acquire prospects.

People who become customers due to a referral have a higher lifetime value than prospects acquired using other methods.

As mentioned, loyal customers have no problem spending more on things you sell. Over time, they become less focused on money and more on ending up with a superior product or service. To them, the combination of outstanding support and quality offering is more important than saving a few dollars.

Social media is more than just a way for people to connect on a personal level. Retained customers often post comments on various platforms in response to having a positive buying experience. Studies show that as much as 97 percent of consumers say the chance of them becoming a loyal customer would increase if the company used their feedback. That statistic shows how critical is to have a place on your website and social media sites for customer comments.

At the same time, 55 percent of consumers in the U.S. say that if a company ignores their feedback, they will not likely make an additional purchase. When focusing on your existing customers, make sure that everyone who leaves a comment, good or bad, receives a response.

In looking over the information provided, you should feel ecstatic that you have a way to build your company and achieve higher business success with very little financial investment.

The best way to accomplish that goal is by increasing brand and customer loyalty, but how do you do that? It all comes down to how well your employees engage with the customers they serve. That does not mean working robotically to make a sale but genuinely taking an interest in the customer and what he or she wants to buy.

For that, you need a way to teach your employees the right way to engage with customers, which comes from superior online training courses. Through that, you will notice a marked improvement, not only in customer loyalty but also to your employees’ attitude while at work.

When it comes to improving customer retention, employee engagement is crucial. At Go1, we offer a broad range of online training courses on this very topic, created and presented by experts with a ton of experience. Incorporate eLearning into your company and watch what happens.

Why employee engagement is important for improving customer retention

Perhaps the best way to determine what your company does right and wrong starts by assessing the level of engagement among your employees. With that, you have the opportunity to understand better what drives your employees to succeed. Many companies use employee engagement surveys to gather valuable information -  but are they truly beneficial?

Start by understanding what this type of survey is and why companies use it. Rather than measuring the level of happiness among employees, the results of this survey indicate the workers’ dedication to the company and the customers they serve. Using an employee engagement survey provides you with incredible insights into how engaged your employees are, as well as the primary drivers of engagement within your organization.

With new knowledge, you can make critical decisions that streamline the operations of your business. You might discover that some employees cannot reach their full potential in their current department, that you have some issue with management, that some of the company policies need redefining, or that you have workers who should consider employment elsewhere.

Skilled Leadership – For your leadership to work effectively, they need to have some understanding as to the mindset of their team. With an employee engagement survey, your management can determine the emotional commitment of the employees under their supervision.

Broad Reach – Just like managers, no two employees are the same, meaning they all have different opinions and ways of working. A key advantage to using this type of survey is that it gives leaders a broader perspective of their team’s attitude. Before investing valuable time and resources on significant changes, use the survey results to understand both positive and negative aspects of your workers in how they perceive their roles and responsibilities.

Learning Tool – Remember, an employee engagement survey helps identify areas that need addressing. When used as a tool for learning about workers instead of a way to fix what they are doing wrong, the survey creates an opportunity to find viable solutions. Again, that could mean moving an employee to a different department, having someone perform a different task, or terminating employment altogether.

Making Comparisons – Another benefit of an employee engagement survey is that it allows you to understand the various groups within the company. For instance, are your part-time employees more dedicated than your full-time staff? Is the same level of engagement seen throughout the organization? Do workers under specific managers engage more than others?

Building Trust – While some people think that employee engagement surveys make workers distrusting, the opposite is actually true. These surveys show teams the commitment that both the company owner and leadership have in gaining a better understanding and making the necessary changes to benefit them. With that, the level of trust among employees grows, making the work environment more cohesive.

Potential Drawbacks of Employee Engagement Surveys

Not Following Through – You can gather a ton of information and identify the required changes, but unless you act, this survey is worthless. Remind yourself that the survey is merely a vehicle for gaining insight. After recognizing where things should change, it is imperative that you follow through. Your managers and employees are watching how you respond to the survey results. Doing nothing would damage relationships and trust. On the other hand, if you take swift and appropriate action, you instill hope and optimism in every worker, regardless of position.

Exhaustion – If you plan to use an employee engagement survey in your company, make sure that you only do so occasionally and never back-to-back with other surveys. Repetitive questions become exhaustive. They also create a sense of panic among workers who fear that you have something bad planned for the company. Use surveys when and if necessary. Also, send out a company-wide email that explains to your workers what an employee engagement survey is and why you chose to conduct it. You want to put your teams at ease so that they can continue producing.

With eLearning, you can select courses to boost their self-confidence and teach them what they need to know in their respective roles.

At GO1, we have thousands of available courses to help improve employee engagement. Not only are these courses affordable, but the majority take an hour or less to complete. With these, you will see a remarkable change in the level of engagement within your organization.

Are employee engagement surveys beneficial?

Go1.com was featured in SBS Small Business Secrets earlier this month where our co-founder and head of growth, Vu Tran, was interviewed.

The inspiring program tracked Go1.com’s success to date and covered Vu’s life - how his parents fled Vietnam to find a better future for their children in Australia.

It also showcased one of our key partners, Australia’s CEO Challenge, a not-for-profit domestic violence awareness training provider who works closely with the corporate sector.

In the segment, Australia’s CEO Challenge chief executive Jacque Lachmund explains how Go1.com is crucial to helping the organisation deliver domestic and family violence training to their clients.

Go1 featured on SBS Small Business Secrets

For any person or business to succeed in today’s society, there has to be a willingness to change. When looking at the combination of a tightening labor market and the ever-changing need for new and more advanced talent, it is easy to understand why gaps in skills are on the rise. For businesses to stay ahead of the fierce competition, fill critical positions, and maintain their most talented employees, they recognize that they are facing an uphill battle.

One way to overcome these challenges involves leaders taking advantage of opportunities for both employee achievement and growth. This is the point where eLearning comes into play. LinkedIn, a website dedicated to helping leaders in the workforce connect, conducted a study that revealed some fascinating results.

49 percent of workers prefer to learn when the need arises

58 percent of workers prefer opportunities to work at a pace that fits their schedule

68 percent of workers prefer to learn while at or as part of work

Business leaders have a vital role in designing and developing strategies that will shape the workplace, while at the same time, delivering extremely relevant content that supports the needs of today’s employees. What does that mean? Leaders need to understand the value of building trusted relationships with workers. The best way to accomplish that is by offering online training courses so they can help employees prepare for the constant changes within the work environment.

In other words, today’s leaders need to become talent developers. In addition to hiring highly skilled employees, companies need ways to enhance the capabilities of the leadership team, which in turn, advances workers in their respective roles. To work in the role of a talent developer, leaders need to focus on several specific areas, including the following.

Soft skill automation is growing at a fast pace. Because of that, talent developers need to make this their No. 1 focus. With online training, employees become more skilled at problem-solving, communication, adaptability, and leadership. Maintaining technical fluency accomplishes two goals: it empowers workers who then feel more motivated on the job, and it supports business growth.

Although talent developers spend more time on soft skill automation, that does not mean they should ignore hard skills. For this, it is essential for leaders to identify the hard skills most in demand for their company and industry, followed by selecting online training courses accordingly.

Online training makes a dramatic difference in how employees balance the challenges they currently face with exciting opportunities in the future. Unfortunately, some talent developers focus solely on skills required today as a way of preventing future skill gaps. However, it is just as important for them to identify industry trends that will affect the future. By combining the two, talent developers can devise a more effective strategy to prevent skill gaps in the workplace.

As the need for multi-generational and diverse employees increases, talent developers also need to provide employees with more eLearning opportunities. Remember the statistics provided by LinkedIn? Because a high number of workers want to work at a pace they feel comfortable with and learn when the need arises, utilizing online training courses proves to be a crucial part of the overall strategy.

According to the Association for Talent Development, of today’s companies, as much as 90 percent rely on online training courses. Because of that, eLearning has grown by leaps and bounds, making it possible for talent developers to offer what employees want and need.

Another interesting study found that if an employer offered online training, as many as 94 percent of the workers would stay loyal to the company for a long time. However, when you factor in the other statistic that 68 percent of workers prefer to learn while at or as part of work, it becomes evident that talent developers need to create programs and set time aside to allow that to happen.

Especially with multiple responsibilities at work and home, people have little time to attend school. Online training solves this problem. Not only does eLearning allow employees to become better in the jobs they currently do, but it prepares them for future opportunities within the company. For the employer, that equates to holding onto incredible skill instead of employees leaving for better jobs.

Turning your leadership team to qualified talent developers is one of the best decisions you can make for your employees and your business. Regardless of the size of your company or its industry, competition today is at an all-time high. That means if you want to hold onto talent and see growth, you have to have people onboard dedicated to making that happen.

Measuring the success of your talent and your employees’ response to and interaction with eLearning is a valuable tool. Just as you use analytics to determine both strong and weak areas of your company’s website, you need to do the same with online learning.

As part of this, you want to measure the retention of information provided through eLearning, as well as employee turnover. Using the data gathered, you can determine if the current program works or if it needs modifying. If the retention rate is down and turnover up, it might come down to choosing different courses and adjusting the schedule for employees to complete them.

You need to set several goals for the talent developers in your organization. They need to create and develop a strategic learning program, one that motivates employees and helps the business grow. They should use eLearning as a way of finding incredibly skilled new hires while at the same time, keeping the talent already employed. Talent developers should also identify industry trends, allowing them to get ahead of the curve instead of behind it.

The great thing about eLearning is that not only does it give you a stronger employee base that consists of individuals capable of meeting demand, but it is also an excellent tool for your talent developers. With an abundance of courses available, both company executives and lower level workers benefit. It all comes down to selecting the right courses.

Keep in mind that eLearning is not a one-time deal but a consistent offering to every level of your organization. For talent developers, ongoing training becomes even more critical. In addition to getting workers motivated and qualified, your top leadership team can use eLearning to keep themselves focused and result-driven.

Why eLearning is transforming talent development

When establishing a training program for your company, you want to focus on a variety of topics. However, training for soft skills should be your No. 1 priority. Why? As explained in a recent report published by LinkedIn, automation has become significant in the workplace, regardless of company size or industry, and it continues to advance.

This same report showed that among hiring managers, an astounding 58 percent said that job candidates lacked the soft skills required. That statistic is a clear indicator that a lot of businesses lose productivity because employees do not have proper training. If you want to stay competitive, it is critical that you bring your entire staff up-to-speed on soft skills.

With ever-changing technology, your staff is in a constant learning mode to keep up. Unless you have skilled employees to handle the automation in your organization, they will fail at their jobs, which puts the business at risk. For your company’s talent development endeavor, it is essential to focus on soft skills training.

In today’s work environment, it is critical to maintain technical fluency across the board, meaning that all employees need to learn soft skills to one degree or another. As demand for automation continues to rise, it becomes even more vital for you to have a leadership team consisting of critical thinkers, excellent communicators, and people who can easily adapt.

Leadership – Training needs to start with your managers. By completing online training courses, they gain new skills, expand on existing talent, and lead by example. Because your employees follow what their managers require, it is essential that you have your leaders up-to-date on soft skills. Otherwise, there is no way for them to lead their team effectively. Without training, you would either have disgruntled employees who leave the company or stay but make a significant number of errors that negatively impact the customer’s experience.

Communication – Excellent communication skills are an essential part of any successful business. Even when it comes to automation, there has to be a clear path of communication between your managers and their staff. As part of this, your managers can relay information or make requests in a way that employees understand. As a result, the department runs seamlessly. Both your leaders and employees need to know that communication is not just about talking but also listening.

Collaboration – Any time you have a team of diverse employees, there are going to be some bumps along the way. In addition to fundamental online training courses on collaboration, you want your managers to suggest some that pertain to soft skills. The focus is to have everyone work together to achieve a common goal. With the right learning opportunities, teams work cohesively. Along with a creating a more pleasant work environment, collaboration gives employees a sense of pride when completing a project as a team.

Critical thinking – For a business with excellent growth potential, you need to have critical thinkers in position. Especially when it comes to technology, this becomes even more vital. While some people are naturally self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-motivated, most are not. With the right online training courses, you can help your staff become critical thinkers who analyze, assess, and reconstruct to achieve optimum results.

Time management – A lack of time management skills is a huge detriment to any organization. Along with fast-advancing technology, customer demand in on the rise. Therefore, your staff needs the skills to work efficiently. As for the other things mentioned, you can find hundreds upon hundreds of online training courses developed specifically for people who need to improve on time management skills. You will see productivity improve, along with employee morale and customer satisfaction.

Role specific skills – For training courses, it is essential to select topics relevant to the business but also each employee’s role within the company. For example, a skilled computer programmer could complete a course like Objective C Programming while someone without much software knowledge could take a beginner’s course on how computer software works. With so many skill specific courses available, you can help all your employees improve and advance.

Our courses are also short, meaning that most are between 30 minutes and one hour. For manager and employee training, that makes it much easier for them to find time to devote to learning. Finally, all our courses have affordable prices. As such, you can develop an online training program for your company without compromising the budget. Regardless of your industry, stay viable by having both your managers and employees complete various soft skill courses.

Why training for soft skills should be your number one priority

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