Systems key to building sustainable training program

Several times each year I spend time thinking about where I envision my company a year from now; five years from now. I find that doing this exercise often makes me adjust, even slightly, my priorities today if I’m going to be aiming my company in the right direction to reach those goals tomorrow.

Over the years, I’ve come to realize what all good managers know: it’s the systems that you have in place that will take you on your desired path to growth, not just the people.

I have to admit that I stutter a little even while typing this. I profoundly believe that we must invest in our people, and that the quality of our people makes the difference in the quality of our service, and our company’s very survival.

At the same time, I know that if either Wendy or Wayne (very key people in my company) leaves or becomes injured and can’t work, I need systems in place to continue the growth and achieve my goals. I can’t afford to have my company’s success or failure dependent upon any one person on my team - including myself.

When we’re working with new or prospective clients we often hear owners say, “The administrator I have in one building loves to do all her own inservices. I think we won’t use the aQuire training system in that building.”

In my owner/operator days, I had administrators who were excellent teachers and administrators who were excellent marketing representatives. I had administrators who never had a single citation during survey, but weren’t ll that great at teaching.

I knew that, without systems to support the individuals, my communities would never move forward. We’d always be fighting the battle of dependency on the person, and worrying about trying to replace the person with someone with the exact same skill set should - heaven forbid - they leave.

David Finkel, (Investor Fast Track) whose advice I always read and appreciate, says that one of the most important distinguishers to move your business forward “is to build a systems-reliant company versus a people dependent business. 90% of small businesses stay that way because they choose the latter--building a people dependent business.”

Finkel goes on to describe a highly successful, growth-oriented business as one “where the key know how for the business has be captured in processes, procedures, and systems that allow that business to get consistently great results with consistently good people.”

Three benefits occur when you move from a people-dependent to a systems-reliant company:

1) Your business becomes much more scalable. You can replicate your business more easily, and more quickly. Imagine the ease of adding new services or new properties quickly and easily.

2) Your business becomes much more stable. If a key employee gets hurt, for example, you no longer are vulnerable to loss of forward momentum or quality service.

3) Your business becomes much more valuable. If another operator can continue your business, with little interruption, the value of that business increases should you wish to sell or leverage the business.

Clearly, these benefits require a commitment to looking at all aspects of operations. It requires looking at the ways “we’ve always done things” and being willing to shake them up.
It will require an investment in a system that will, in the long run, produce a higher return on that investment.

In the area of staff training, a systems-reliant approach may result in a change in the status quo. It may require a financial investment. But your gain can be significant.

You can quickly and easily demonstrate full compliance with training requirements – for surveyors, investors, attorneys.

You can achieve consistency in training content and quality company-wide. Many people thought they’d achieved that with corporate training manuals, only to find that, once again, the use of the training manual was only as good as the person designated to use it.

You can set your company apart from the rest who only do traditional (read: “boring”) inservices, both in your hiring advantage and in your services delivery.

You can continue quality training uninterrupted, even with a change in key personnel.

Sustainability is a bit of a fad word today. But in the area of operational excellence, it's an element you can't afford to ignore.