Are your employees reaching their full potential? Is your office running at max capacity, using the latest tools and technology at your disposal?
Chances are, even in the most efficient and tech-savvy offices, there is still room for improvement. Chance are also, it’s not the fault of your employees!
Small business owners often require their staff to wear several different hats. They run on shoe-string budgets. Whether it’s a startup or a mom-and-pop company, time is precious. Employees need to be efficient, flexible and willing to roll with new tasks and challenges.
So the question is, as a small business owner, are you keeping your employee’s skills fresh? Are you giving them the opportunity to really shine? Are they using skills they are naturally suited for, and successfully tackling new technology?
No matter the industry there are a few ways you can keep your employee’s skills fresh and up-to-date.
1.Train them on SEO Basics
SEO–Search Engine Optimization is becoming a basic skill on the small business front. What it means in the simplest language is “wording content so Google can find your company’s site”.
There are many people out there who will offer to “optimize” your site, one-time for you for a big fee. While you might need some expertise and help to get started, having internal help going forward can save you time, energy and stress, especially if you’re regularly adding dynamic content to your website.
Google’s (and other search engines) web crawlers and search tactics are always adapting and changing. SEO isn’t a one-time fix. Content can be boosted by current events, by news, and as the face of business changes. Training your employees on the basics will help them keep your company’s content on the forefront of web-searches (and make sure your customers can find you!).
2. Foster Web Development Skills
Similar to SEO basics, web development skills can mean the difference between outsourcing simple updates and being able to quickly resolve things in-house. In the long run having some basic web-development skills will help your employees feel more ownership over your site and better connect with your customers. This is particularly important for eCommerce businesses.
Your employees don’t have to be fluent in HTML or know how to build a website from scratch, but giving them a chance to learn basic updating skills can help your company stay on top of concerns, troubleshoot and quickly create content when the need arises.
Many employees can quickly learn the basics with online-tutorials and classes. You can also find one-on-one trainers to spend a day of professional development training your office with the basics. As a small business owner, you should also have a handle on how to develop your web presence.
3. Encourage Social Media Savvy
Most employees are familiar with social media from a personal perspective, and it’s easy to become complacent or assume they already understand everything about social media for business (a different beast). Encourage your employees to read industry-specific publications, sign up for webinars and training and become familiar with social media best practices that apply to your office.
Social media is a way to connect with your customers and engage with potential customers and your community. It’s imperative that you present a professional front that’s in-line with your brand and voice. Having a rogue post on social media, or unprofessional posts can really frighten customers away and even offend them.
Encourage employees to follow a simple social media protocol when it comes to engaging with customers. Have strong branding guidelines, and a grasp of your target audience will help employees stay on the same page when it comes to updating your social media and connecting with customers and clients.
4. Familiarize them with Software
So you have a CRM, billing and invoicing software, communications tools like MailChimp, calendar programs, scheduling, project and task-management systems. Great! How many of your employees actually know how to use all of the software tools at their disposal?
Chance are, your employees aren’t using your software to full capacity, and you’re losing out on time and productivity in the process. You can learn more about your CRM by visiting Insightly Help Center for a full list of training videos and webinars. Many of your company’s software providers will offer support and assistance.
While training your employees on the full-range and capacity of your software programs seems like a time-consuming endeavor, it can really boost your office efficiency. Your employees will feel confident and may even come up with great new solution and ways to solve problems.
5. Make Training Fun and Relevant
We’ve all sat through training that was boring and less-than-inspiring. Rather than forcing employees to snooze through another training session, encourage them to get involved with hands-on-learning and find fun, and creative ways to make training exciting.
Webinars, and videos are often more engaging than lectures, and employees can learn at their own pace as it aligns with their schedule. If you have to do in-depth training, offer breaks, snacks, and chances for your employees to get up move around and have some fun.
Make up incentives and challenges to help your employees feel enthusiastic about their training. Give them a chance to share their knowledge with other employees and take ownership of their new found skills.
6. Help Them Find Their Niche
Not every person is good at learning every new skill. Your salespeople might be wonderful at connecting with customers, but learning about SEO and web design might bore them to tears. Analytic employees might love to build information and add tags, fields and categories in your CRM, but might not enjoy social media.
Find the natural aptitudes of your employee base. In a small office, you all might have to tackle some jobs that are challenging or uncomfortable, but you should be able find the best fit for every task.
Play on strengths and discover what your employees feel enthused about. Rather than trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, let your employees guide you toward the things they really enjoy and feel good doing. When they are working on tasks they enjoy, they will bring their best work to the table.
Even small business owners can find the time to build up skills and keep your employees’ skills fresh. You don’t have to have a huge training budget or massive amounts of time. Use the tools at your disposal and find ways to help your team shine!
At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a variety of verticals. Learn about all of Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.
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