Before you delve too deeply into why staff training is necessary for your human-resources department, you might want to devote a few minutes to refresh your memory as to why you have an HR department at all. You can get a good start by understanding that your employees are your best resource. This is sometimes treated as a cliché, with no true effort to treat your people as a valuable resource.
To put this in the most basic terms, if you don’t have dependable, skilled individuals your best business plans have little chance of success. The reasons for this vary from one company to another, but reasons exist for every company, in every industry, including the sale of luxury products such as diamonds. The HR department should be considered the tool to multiply valuable resources you already have, or in some situations, hold onto them. One of the most important tasks for HR personnel is to help managers and supervisors understand the business from the employee’s point of view.
Employee Training?
It’s also important to have a firm grasp on the more general area of employee training, which is more than important for organizational success. Quality training is essential. In the HR department, the focus should be on making sure staff members understand important areas such as workplace safety, the Family and Medical Leave Act, diversity issues, and methods for managing challenging employees.
This might mean changing the management mindset in important ways, rather than expecting workers to adhere to a strict method of doing work. This can reduce the number of worksite issues and problems, especially if everyone involved is willing to compromise and work toward a positive solution. So, training in the HR sector must also take management personnel into account as well.
Planning a training program specifically for HR functions begins with assessing specific needs. While the following suggestion may again sound like a cliché, the truth is you must begin your planning by closely analyzing your current HR department operation. Observe your HR staff as they perform their daily activities and look for areas in which they seem to struggle. Specific areas to observe would be how leave requests are handled, deciding on salaries, wages, and bonuses, or handling a necessary layoff.
Setting Goals
Training program for your HR staff must have clearly defined objectives, both short term and long term. When you begin to outline these as part of your plan, always make sure to include members of the department in discussions. Be specific as well. For example, you might want to create a training program focused on hiring the right people efficiently, an important consideration in a luxury goods field like diamonds. It would be wise to avoid covering too much ground in one program.According to information from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, “Having international work experience is definitely an asset when you’re looking for a job in the diamond industry. This is especially the case when you are applying for a job abroad or a job that involves trading with foreign customers.”
Two other essential steps involve the resources you include in the plan, such as video presentations, classroom exercises simulating different settings, and resources staff members take with them for future reference. As you implement the training program, continue to observe closely and be prepared to conduct an honest evaluation, including one-on-one interviews, group discussions, and surveys. Other specific topics might include safety, employee benefits, diversity, and labor relations.