I have been looking back over the last 12 months with mixed feelings. The pandemic has been a human tragedy. Many businesses have suffered and may not survive. So much has changed, and we still don’t know what the new normal is going to look like.
For some, adversity has created opportunity. Businesses have been forced to re-think the way they can continue to deliver services to their customers. Some have made the switch from provision of in-person to virtual conferencing, for instance, while many brewers have moved to selling beer online direct to consumers as pubs cancel orders.
I have spoken to many business owners faced with such challenges and never cease to be impressed with the sheer resilience and drive to survive that our UK entrepreneurs show.
I am lucky, as my business provides online training solutions, and we are seeing increased demand for the services we provide. We have been extolling the virtues of online learning for over 14 years now and our clients are aware of the benefits an online training strategy can deliver.
It is true that bad online training is equally as useless as bad face-to-face training – and I am sad to report both exist in great quantities. But a well-structured, professionally developed learner experience can deliver so much to both the learner and their employer.
Ensuring your employees are trained effectively is more important now than it has ever been. Think about the training you would like to offer to your staff or indeed your customers. Then consider if this could realistically be provided online. If it could, or you aren’t sure, ask a specialist online provider for their assistance.
Research shows that the level of support and training a person receives directly impacts their job satisfaction and engagement levels which, in turn effect their productivity.
So, my message to you as we start 2021 is to look after your employees. They are more important than your customers. Happy employee = happy customer = successful business.
I will leave you with this quote from John F. Kennedy:
“Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past and present are certain to miss the future.”
Good luck for 2021!
Nick Richards, CEO, Me Learning
