To start a discussion about making the best use of your time, you could quote from one of the most successful businessmen and business coaches still working today. In his book, No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs, Dan Kennedy writes, “Time is the most precious asset any entrepreneur possesses.”
Why shouldn’t this same train of thought apply to employees who are responsible for production and delivering services to valued clients?
It should be.
And, the wise business owner or manager will make sure time management skills are an integral part of the overall training program. To get this essential process started, it might help to divide the discussion into two key parts. First, a general understanding of what is included in a successful training program. Key points in any program should include:
- Make training a consistent part of your operation. Training should never be something you’ll “just get to sometime.”
- Vary your training methods to keep things fresh, but make sure you allow time to measure the effects of each method.
- You must monitor employee progress. This is crucial to the success of any training program.
- Don’t stop training. Keep trying to find the plans that work.
Presenting Time Management
With these general guidelines in place, how would you present the specific topic: time management skills? In addition to putting training of all types at the top of your priority list, it’s also essential to consider effective management of work time a priority. Start your program with an emphasis on problem-solving and decision-making. Encourage employees to take initiative when a business decision must be made during the workday.
It’s important, of course, to help employees understand the level at which they can, and should, make decisions, and which level of decision-making should be left to supervisors, managers, and owners. This should be combined with training and guidance in organizational skills. These two key elements will reduce missed deadlines and overtime costs. You can learn more about the eight biggest time management mistakes and how to avoid them
More Training Ideas
To bring in some advice from yet another successful trainer and business coach, consider the advice of Zig Ziglar, who stated, “How can you hit a target you don’t have?” When you prepare employees to manage their time effectively, they must begin by knowing, in detail, what they’re expected to accomplish. Every individual, at each level of the operation, must know what needs to be done. This eliminates a lot of time wasted on preliminary discussions and “educated guesses.”
It’s essential for owners, managers, and training organizers to understand how quality training, including time-management training, benefits an organization of any size, in any industry. You’ll see tasks being completed in less time. Even if the time difference is measured in minutes, the cumulative effect will be noticeable. As this begins to happen, you’ll notice the quality of work improves and company reputation is enhanced.
As mentioned earlier, time is the most valuable asset anyone has, in business or in personal life. When employees manage their time effectively, they become another important asset.
