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2 ways to maximize your training!

According to an article in the WSJ, “U.S. firms spent about $156 billion on employee learning in 2011, the most recent data available, according to the American Society for Training and Development. But with little practical follow-up or meaningful assessments, some 90% of new skills are lost within a year, some research suggests.”

Does your company conduct a training class, however never conduct any follow up training?

We suggest the following for your company when developing a training program.

1. Analyze your current and future needs. Focus on the initial training, however plan for a follow training in 6-12 months.
2. Focus on what you are teaching and allow your employees time to practice, provide timely feedback, and what corrective action will you take with the lesson learned.

Is business writing really a problem?

At the crust of it, business writing appears to not be an issue for most of the working population. You receive a letter from a business and it looks like it’s fine. Or you send a business letter to a client and never hear back from them assuming your letter is acceptable.

However in reality, according to a 2010 study by the National Commission on Writing, 120 major US corporations spent $3.1 billion on poor employee business writing. You are probably telling yourself that does not seem possible? The reality is that small writing errors can directly affect profitability. For example, Coleco, a computer manufacturer, lost $35 million in one quarter back in 1983. What happened? Their customers purchased their product, computers; however, when they found the instruction manual unreadable, customers rushed to return their computers. In the end this company went out of business.

With such staggering statistics, is it possible to correct this situation? Absolutely and here is how.

  1. When writing a business correspondence, approach your writing as you are solving a problem.

  2. Consider your audience.

  3. Consider the benefits you will offer your targeted audience.

  4. Write a business correspondence then put it aside and later come back to it with a fresh mind and perspective.

  5. Keep your emotions out of the business communication.

  6. Do you really need all the words that you wrote in your business communication?

  7. Depending on the type of business communication, have multiple people review it.