Thursday, March 1, 2012

Elevator Speech on Training

We had to write a 90 second "Elevator Speech" in class to persuade someone to see the importance of training in any organization. This is my speech:

My Elevator Speech 


I can understand where you are coming from when you say that you feel that training is unnecessary, a lot of people feel the way you do. And with the economy the way it is right now it can really seem unneeded. But actually there are big changes happening all over because of new technologies, rapid development of knowledge, globalization and e-commerce (Noe, 2010). Training prepares employees for these changes and without it there will be a performance gap in any organization. In this competitive job market workers want to stay relevant and training not only makes them equipped, but it makes them feel appreciated. 
When asked more than a third of employees said they "would like proper training for new duties and responsibilities" (Bradley, 2010).  
Training does not just add much needed skills and knowledge to your workforce it also stimulates employee engagement. This is important because "disengaged employees influence the overall health of an organization" (Bradley, 2010). It is estimated that in the near future 85% of the jobs in this country will require extensive use of knowledge. So employees will be required to understand the development systems of their product or service, be able to share this knowledge, and use it to tailor their organization's offerings to meet individual customer's needs (Noe, 2010). You cannot possibly do this without training. So basically, training should be viewed as a mandatory element of every company as opposed to a luxury. 



References
Bradley, A. (2010). Shifting away from an employer’s market. Training and Development, 64(7), 16–17. 


Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

10 comments:

  1. Hello Danielle,

    Congratulation, you have created a great speech with so much insights about the value of training for both the employees and the organizations. To concur with your statement after Bradley, 2010 about how the employees would like proper training for new duties and responsibilities, I would like to mention what Noe, 2010 stated that most employees believe that the best company to work for, is not only the one that provides very competitive pay and benefits, but also that are committed to training and development. Thanks,

    References

    Bradley, A. (2010). Shifting away from an employer’s market. Training and Development, 64(7), 16–17.

    Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Adel,

      Thank you for the supportive comments! This speech was honestly how I feel about training after reading the articles and chapters this week!

      Thanks
      Dani

      Delete
  2. Hi Danielle –

    You have done a good job of effectively communicating a great deal of important information in a short but persuasive speech. I think it was important that you framed your speech in terms of the economic sense of maintaining quality training and development initiatives. It seems that when resources are short, training looks like a luxury that can be put on the shelf to save money (Noe, 2010). I think your speech demonstrates how training is actually a necessity when resources are short because it helps employees manage change, prepare for new responsibilities and feel engaged. Organizations facing cutbacks have to make smart decisions about where to save money. You have made a good case that cutting training might be more costly in the long-term in terms of performance slippages and increased turnover.

    Alexis
    http://takehomemessages.wordpress.com

    Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alexis,
      Thank you so much!!! Until this week I really never thought that training was such an important factor in a company's success, and the impact it has on the employees!

      Thanks

      Dani

      Delete
  3. Hi Danielle,

    I love the point you made about stimulating employee engagement. I don't think most organizations realize the importance of engaging their employees. "Employees who are engaged in their work and committed to their companies give those companies a competitive advantage, including higher productivity, better customer service and lower turnover" Noe, 2010). Many companies are too busy looking at their bottom line to see how investment in proper training to help engage their employees can benefit them. The answers they seek are not always right in front of them sometimes they have to dig a little deeper. You did a great job explaining the benefits of training. I am convinced.

    Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tyrese,

      Thank you! The employee side of training really resonated with me while I read the article from this week. So I wanted the employees' side to be evident in my speech!

      Thanks for the great feedback!

      Dani

      Delete
  4. Danielle,
    I liked your opening approach of sharing the CEO's possible concern for the cost of training in today's economy to get their attention. Stressing the importance of training to address future performance gaps is a very good approach. I also liked that you emphasized the value of training for the employee to enhance their knowledge and skill and to stimulate employee engagement. Employee motivation and engagement are hot topics for many managers. You stated at the end that training should be viewed as a mandatory element for every company. You could actually turn that into a question as to why he thinks training should be mandatory. That could leave the CEO possibly wanting to hear more.
    Mike

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike,
      I love the idea of turning the ned into a question!

      I feel like you really got where I was coming from with my speech. In my last class we learned a lot from Harold Stolovitch, who was always making sure we kept the client's needs at the forefront and repeated what they said to us to show that we recognized their concerns. I just kept thinking of those little rules when I made this speech, to show that I was aware of what I considered to be their side in all of this and different views on how employees feel about training!

      Thanks for the great feedback!

      Dani

      Delete
  5. Danielle,

    I loved the importance you placed on the employee at the end of your post. Understanding the needs of the employees as far as training and overall atmosphere can majorly impact training and the company.The point that employees are almost begging to be trainied effectively just shows the need for good, effective training.

    Great post

    ReplyDelete