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The NEWORK Centre
Level 2 Willbank House
57 Willis Street Wellington
Phone 499 1048
e-mail nework@xtra.co.nz

No 16 March 2004

Don't let work take over your life.

Training Outside the Organisation

As NEWORKers/Portfolio workers, one of the matters that we tend to relegate to the "next week" page is that of our own personal development both in a professional and personal sense.

We can make all sorts of excuses - time, money, expense, etc, etc and yet is one of those things that we need and must do.

Training doesn't have to be expensive. The tools you need could be right under your nose.

There is no doubt that training pays in terms of growth and profits. With the right skills and knowledge to perform jobs we are more productive. Without them we could miss opportunities, sales, get orders wrong and loose customers.

As a small business we may think we can't afford training but with a little thought we can easily develop your own effective and economical training.

The buddy system is the way most training gets done. As the "new employee" you are shown the ropes by a more experienced person but when you're busy its easy for this kind of training to be put to one side. Overcome this by having a check list of things that you want to learn from that organisation before you finish your contract.

Buy books. There are a myriad of books available on many subjects in business from sales to customer service to finance and quality control. Utilise this relatively inexpensive method by giving each employee a copy of a book you choose and follow this up with a team discussion on the ideas. Then even those who haven't read the book are at least exposed to the principles.

Seminars can be expensive but consider an alliance with an employyee of a firm that has been sent on their obligatory course. Learn from them and their learnings.

Piggy Back on courses that are being held by the organisation that you are working for. If there is a vacancy or they need someone to "make up numbers" consider offering yourself. You may not charge for the time spent, but at least you are not incurring the cost of the course.

Home grown skills. You may be surprised at what skills you have within your own networks. Some of peers may have useful knowledge and skills that can be imparted to the rest. For example a person may have been on a course about just in time management, knowledge that can be transferred to many areas of your business. Ask them to design a short course or presentation.

Outside assistance. Many government agencies provide relatively cheap, or even free training on specific subjects such as health and safety. Check out www.workinfo.govt.nz

The internet is a valuable source of information and you'll even find free net based training courses. These tend to be American but can give you ideas on structure and content.

Suppliers often provide formal classes on their equipment and allied subjects.

Contact the managers of your customers, and ask if you can take part in their training programmes. Few companies can resist this appeal to their ego, particularly if you explain that you are trying to find quality training so that you can provide better service.

The local Chamber of Commerce can also be a source of very economic training from some well known presenters on subjects as diverse as serving the customer, reception skills to writing business plans. Remember as a member of the NEWORK Centre, you have access to these courses at membership rates.

Most of your training will have a base in theory but few people benefit from being talked at or forced to watch some training video. Get involved.

Keep the course short and relevant to the work you are doing or might do. Keep interest alive by making as much of the training hands-on and active as you can.

Take part in training yourself. Keep up to date with various trends and directions. Take the opportunities that come your way. Be there, be involved. The involvement might just result in yet another opportunity for added income.