Investing in updated certifications for yourself and your employees will do a great deal to increase your business output. Existing employees who don’t have the time or flexibility to go back to school even part time can improve their skills by getting new certifications in their field. As an employer, providing the right setting to earn them and the proper compensation for completing them is critical to encouraging others to work on their certifications.
Promote A Culture Of Improvement
If you want your hiring team or your IT staff to have a broader skill base, certification training can greatly enhance their skills. If you want this to happen, you will need to make room and time for
- study
- webinars
- testing
Consider setting up a particular time entry code for those who need time to study. If they would prefer to study from home, help them and their supervisor set up a schedule that allows them to log in from home to study.
Look For Certifications That Everyone Can Use
You may be able to find a low cost certification training on managing email, avoiding distractions, or communicating effectively. Not everyone in your firm will need several layers of certification to do their job, and some may take the suggestion as a sign of a deficiency.
For basic, simple certifications, consider starting with a group class or webinar over lunch. You will be able to tell a lot by the attitudes you see and the intensity of the engagement of various employees. The next time a more involved training comes available, you will know who to target.
Create Accountability
Many certification classes are free in the introductory stage but charge to take the test. By allowing time for study, you are taking on the burden of improving your employees. By asking them to pay for the test, you are creating accountability for your employees.
You can build loyalty by creating a pay-off system for the tests. For example, you may provide a cash bonus in the amount of the cost of the test and provide a raise in the middle of the year in honor of their increased skillset. Loyal employees who feel invested in and well-compensated will not only give you their best, but happy employees invite their fellow professionals to join the team. If you, as an employer, can get word of mouth promotions to bring in more qualified staff, you are doing good work.
Look For Certification Training That Will Grow With The Employee
One certification is nice, but a structured series of staffing certifications that will build on previous knowledge will add more bang for your dollar and for your employee’s efforts.
Because state, local and federal rules and regulations on many industries are constantly changing, it may be a good idea to help employees find targeted certifications that they can then train on. For example, you may be in an industry that needs to hit federal benchmarks in diversity or state regulations in terms of regional pay. With the right certifications, you can build your own training force and share data with new hires, who you can train to grow into new roles in your business.
Celebrate The Wins
Any employee who is already working full time has plenty to do. Getting new certifications, even those that are eventually covered by a cash bonus, is a burden. Even if you are able to pay them to take coursework and study, their remaining workload can be severely compressed.
Certified employees deserve to be celebrated. As the number of certified employees in your business increase, your ability to grow your workforce will expand. These celebrations can be quite simple; an email from leaders offering congratulations or a special announcement on the employee newsletter may suffice; not every employee likes a fuss. The goal is to raise awareness of what certifications are available. among other employees to raise awareness so you can increase your population of certified folks.
The world is getting more complex each day. Everything from HR regulations to IT risks can radically change how well your business functions if you can’t get ahead of the challenges that arise. Certified employees who are willing to grow are critical to your future success.
