The Tribune

By Ian Ferguson

The New Year is upon us and has opened doors of opportunity for many businesses. The future is looking bright, and companies all over the Bahamas are poised to take advantage of 2014’s pending blessings. Many companies, in fact, have already begun to prepare themselves for the successes of the New Year.

The first of the year always brings a new air of freshness that is welcomed by companies looking for a clean start. It allows firms to focus their attention on strategies, goals and targets that will create an environment for progress.

Our encouragement to businesses, as always, is to invest in preparation. Seek assistance from the experts who can steer you along the path to higher achievement. One of the critical nuggets of advice we give to companies looking to ‘shake thing up’ this year is to re-orient their staff in an empowerment training exercise that will reinvigorate their energy, and steer them in a winning direction.

A re-orientation training exercise will re-acquaint each employee with the vision, mission and core values of the company, and presents these foundational statements as the driving force behind what we all need to be doing in order to accomplish our goals. The programme should also revisit the customer service plan, sharing with each employee the goals, the target audience for their business, and the key stakeholders in making their business come to life.

The sharing of product knowledge, and explanation of the standard operating procedures for every role in the company, is vital to ensuring each team member knows what they are expected to do, as well as HOW to do those things you require of them in their job descriptions.

The re-orientation exercise must also provide each employee with the policies and procedures of the company, and remind them of the ethical and lawful behaviour that is expected from each of them while associated with the brand.

Finally, company executives may also take this time or staff re-orientation to share vital aspects of the company’s business plan with team members, including the financial strategy, marketing strategy, and operational and management strategy, so that everyone has a greater sense of what they are up against and the bigger picture is viewed by all.

Re-orientation programmes have proven quite effective in creating the catalyst companies need to motivate their human capital towards achieving MORE in the New Year. The benefits of providing this training for your staff are great and the cost of doing so, in most cases, is minimal. Most seasoned team leaders with training, senior executives, company trainers or outsourced professionals can deliver the programme outlined in this article, allowing the company to reap tremendous benefits.

For assistance in building a re-orientation program for your team, contact our talent management professionals at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.

• NB: Ian R. Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.