Find the leverage points
LaRosa says a key to making training effective is to remove as many obstacles to it as possible to encourage people to take advantage of it.
“First, create an environment where you make it easy for your people to sharpen their saw,” says LaRosa.
For LaRosa’s franchisees, for instance, he tries to make the classes affordable, charging about $25 an hour per person to attend the sessions, which last one to four hours.LaRosa says celebrating successes is also key when it comes to encouraging participation. Improved performance that is traced back to training experiences encouragesthose who need skills improvements to take classes and raises the prestige of the training program.
“When people look at that high-performing group, that top third, they look at those margins and they have good things to say about their training and their experience, thatall just keeps the wheels spinning,” LaRosa says. “So we’re always looking for success stories to share. If somebody attends a class and they really have some great feedbackthat they provide about a class, then we’ll share those quotes and comments.”
LaRosa’s selected training as a key point of improvement for its business, but LaRosa points out that the process can be applied by any company to any aspect of its business. “You have to have a thorough understanding of your business and where the leverage points are,” says LaRosa. “Where are the areas where, if you focus and you do a betterjob, you’re going to get a better return? I’d say you have to begin with a key understanding of your industry. It’s understanding where you are, where you want to go and howyou’re going to get there.”
HOW TO REACH: LaRosa’s Inc., www.larosas.com