Entrepreneurs like international executive Sanjay Govil, believes in the importance of learning and training for continued success. Companies need to evolve as the business climate continues to change and grow with technology. Change is not just necessary, but it is actually a cornerstone for growth. The heart of this process is to learn. Change also, drives innovation and ushers in a new generation of companies along with caring the torch of innovation into the future.
What lessons can a new company learn from successful established companies, enabling them to create their own success? For answers to this question and others, people often turn to successful businesses that have continued to thrive throughout the world.
The Importance of Training
The value of learning for business professionals is the ability for companies continues to grow. Business today is not just about current success but about being prepared for sustained success. A recent article from Entrepreneur sheds some light on the increasing demand for learning along with why it is important for employers to respond. The post referenced a Glassdoor poll outlining employee confidence. A poll looked at college graduates and asked them about the value of their education.
The poll showed what most of us already know – college helps graduates springboard into professional pursuits. However, an even more interesting point came up in the data that relates to the preference for continued learning and training beyond college – particularly for young professionals looking for guidance.
As the Entrepreneur post discussed, “The majority of employees surveyed by Glassdoor said that their employers’ value work experience and related skills more than education, but a recent study from the American Psychological Association found that less than half of the workers surveyed reported being satisfied with the growth and development opportunities offered by their employers.” Newer business should commit to employee training early and instead of thinking about training as wasted expense on employees that might leave, think about “What happens if I do not train my team and they stay?”
Sanjay Govil, Chairman and founder of Infinite (A provider of Platformized™ Business Solutions and Next-Gen mobility products) recommends “…train your team with the confidence that meeting the needs of the marketplace tomorrow, depends on preparing and investing in your team today.”
Learning Through Doing in Business
The data makes it clear that training should not just come from college. It should also come from companies and business professionals already in the work force. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) studied data from 2500 companies to conclude that businesses that invested in training saw:
24% higher profit margin
86% higher company value
21% increase in productivity
300% reduction in employee turnover
The Return of Investment (ROI) from each dollar spend on employee triaging is approximately $7.00. Companies like GE, Philips, Mattel and Infinite use training as a business strategy for future success. “To maintain the technology edge of Infinite’s innovative products and services, ongoing employee training becomes essential our company’s growth,” said Sanjay Govil.
When it comes to training and getting advice from current successful business, any assistance can greatly help younger business professionals. While many of the skills that drove past business excellence, hold true today even though the business landscape is certainly different, the ethic and qualities of business tenacity remains the same. Nowadays it is more about striking the right balance between the skills to find that so-called “sweet-spot” and true success, along with getting the right training to reinforce these skills is critically important.
In Sanjay Govil’s words, “Businesses must have tenacity, technical skill, trust and team. It is prioritizing these correctly that is the key to business growth.” He explained this breakdown of four components into a few specific requirements.
First, tenacity comes through believing in the business. “Have belief in the offering portfolio of your business,” he noted. By remaining tenacious about your business, other people will take notice.
Second, is one that is a little more topical in today’s business world. While technical skills have always been tantamount in business, this skill and knowledge is even more important today. Business professionals need to “possess the technical skills to produce the optimal product,” Govil reiterated. By getting involved and understanding the product or service, you can get directly behind it. And this type of understanding will make other people get behind it as well.
Third, has remained important in business since business existed. By maintaining a high degree of trust in all business areas, you open up potentials. As Govil directed, “Be a trusted partner to your customer. Be a trusted employer to your team members.” Without trust in employees and customers, what more do you actually have?
Fourth, – and arguably most important – team building should be a top priority for any business leader. The goal is to build and maintain a trusted, skilled team of professionals. By developing a team that shares the same passionate pursuit of business as you do, a business accomplishes this by creating a team environment that promotes this by establishing an environment of trust, accessibility and challenge for employees.
Looking Ahead to the Future in Business
For entrepreneurs like Sanjay Govil, there are a certain number of innate skills important to any business professional. However, there are a lot more skills that develop thanks to the help of other people. This is done by identifying and seeking the help of mentors – within school, the business world and beyond.
“Mentors are not only business mentors,” according to Govil “they can be life, technical and or strategy mentors. Entrepreneurs should keep their eyes open for these types of connections because they can sometimes happen in unexpected places.” No matter where you are, you can find inspiration and education. Experts like Sanjay Govil, display the power of training along with the fact that true learning can come from anyone and anywhere.