I posed this question on an earlier linked in post and the general consensus was that mental health, mindfulness and wellbeing are very prevalent right now. Obviously, I agree, especially with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and I think that courses and training for employees in this field will always be important for the wellbeing of staff and business owners.
I worked at an FE College for 18 years, and they worked really hard to educate all the staff on these matters, so that managers could recognise signs of anyone who may need some help, and also for your own mental health & wellbeing. I think it is very important to always keep this in mind, pay attention to staff behaviours, and be kind and approachable. In this current world we live in we always need to keep our mental health & wellbeing ‘hats’ on and be mindful of how we interact with staff, colleagues and customers.
Imagine this scenario – does it sound familiar?
You are really busy with your business, enquiries are coming in and you are meeting yourself
coming back. I suppose this is a good situation to be in, we all want to be busy with work, don’t we? It means that we are doing well.
Someone asks you the question “If you could only do one course what would it be?” and you
frown. “I do not have time to do a course!” You tell them. You do not even consider what training could
benefit you and you do not consider the persons question. You are just too busy.
Too busy to train
But hang on a minute here. Too busy to develop yourself? That is like a chef saying that he is too busy cooking to sharpen his knife or an electrician saying they are too busy to learn the latest regulations. You have got to develop yourself if you are going to move forward and sometimes the best way to do this is to take a day or
two out and learn from an expert.
Your priorities?
We train decorators so we know a thing or two about decorating. Every business has it’s own priorities and
decorating is no different. The following priorities for your business may be:
1. Improving the standard of your work.
2. Creating more leads.
3. Completing the work in a shorter time
span.
4. Getting paid on time (or just getting paid in some cases).
Everyone will have a different set of priorities depending on where they are in their business but in this example the number one priority at the moment is improving the standard of work. One or two customers have complained about substandard work and you have been running around wasting time going back and putting the work right.
This then is the one course to do this year that will be most valuable to your business.
You could find an appropriate training organisation and do a one or two day course to improve the standard of your work. CITB have a range of short courses for decorators and there will be something on there that meets your needs. For example, if it is wallpapering that you need to improve then do a wallpapering course.
Time is limited
Yes, I know that you are busy, time is limited, and you cannot fit a course in but consider this: what if I said that if you gave me just two days of your time then I would give you all your weekends back for the rest of the year?
Wow that is some grand promise!
Many of the decorators who do our spraying course(s) go back to their business and they are 100% more productive. That means they do in two days what they used to do in four days. Now all of a sudden you have time on your hands. You can spend more time marketing your business and even have some time off sat in the sun with a glass of wine.
In many cases an effective course will give you more time and money in your business.
More time, and more money, means you will be less stressed, and can be mindful of your own
mental health & wellbeing. You will have the time and energy to notice the behaviours in yourself and your staff
and ensure you have a happy and healthy workforce who actually enjoy doing their jobs.
Next year you can work on the next priority in your list.
If you are in the construction industry then you can claim CITB funding for training every year, so you could build a structured training programme for your business and get some, or all of it funded by CITB.
If you want more information email me (Tracey) on courses@painttechtrainingacademy.co.uk and I will chat to you about possible funding and courses.
