Training on the job

Feeling well trained and valued makes you more likely to enjoy your work, and it also encourages loyalty. Belinda, a Senior Account Executive at Praxis PR was heartened by the support available in her new job. ‘When I started I expressed an interest in working towards CAM qualifications. My employer was keen for me to go ahead, and stumped up the required fees with enthusiasm. I study at home, with online support from a tutor. I do feel more loyal toward my employer because it's clear they're interested in my professional development, which is imperative, if you are to get the most out of staff.’

Creative solutions
E-learning is growing in popularity, as a way of providing flexible training. Computer based training comes in various forms – it's possible to do a degree using web-based resources, backed up with support by email and occasional tutorials with a real person. Many companies are using the potential of the technology to share resources and good practice, providing help to staff when and where they want it. Unipart has put most of its training materials available electronically, and these can even be accessed from the shop floor to help staff directly at the point they need it.

However, beware of poor quality resources that can turn your desire to acquire skills into raging frustration. Just being given a CD and manual or told to look at a few websites will not help you learn something new. Nor should using electronic resources be an excuse for pushing you into doing lots of extra work in your own time. If your training is being done via a computer, you also need the option of human help from time to time. The computer is, in many cases, replacing the textbook, but you still need someone to guide you through and explain the difficult bits.

There's much to be gained from informal training that uses the expertise of those you work with. This happens regularly at the PR Company, Eulogy! ‘With lots of experienced, capable people in our agency, we wanted to devise a process that encouraged everyone to share knowledge. We run hands on workshops on topics chosen by the team and have someone act as facilitator. That could be one of our guys, a client or journalist. We recently had a client talk us through “dealing with a difficult client”, and one of our own staff plus a journalist did a session on how to sell a news story.’

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