Seasonal affective disorder, also known as the winter blues, refers to a condition in which people commonly feel sluggish, depressed, and experience levels of low energy during certain seasons. This condition may also be characterized by difficulty sleeping, weight gain, and even trouble concentrating. Such symptoms can frequently cause staff to feel unengaged and less productive. Although trying to beat the winter blues and avoid seasonal slumps can seem like a challenging task, there are some things employers can do to assist their employees in feeling better and more productive.

First, it’s important to understand exactly what Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is and why some people seem to suffer from it. Many experts believe that SAD is the result of a lack of sunlight. This lack of sunlight results in hormonal changes and throw off the body’s natural rhythm. Additionally, people who suffer from this disorder may experience a decrease in serotonin production. This is the chemical in the brain responsible for promoting a good mood and plenty of energy.

Steps Employers Can Take to Battle the Winter Blues and Boost Employee Productivity

There are actually many steps that employers can take to assist their employees in feeling better during the winter months. Employers should set the right tone from the beginning by ensuring they understand how to inspire a motivated workplace. The course Employee Motivation can help management do just that.

Making a few changes to your staff’s immediate work environment can make a difference in how your employees feel. You might be surprised to discover that just a few simple changes can actually help your employees feel more proactive and energized.

A light, bright color scheme combined with a bright and airy setting is ideal, particularly during times when access to natural sunlight is limited. Employers might also wish to consider giving employees time to take a walk outdoors. Even a few minutes of access to fresh air and sunlight can be enough to help employees feel refreshed and invigorated.

When it’s necessary to hold meetings, consider carefully where those meetings are held. The ideal location is in a bright room with a lot of windows and natural sunlight. Doing so can help to increase attention and concentration levels. In situations in which natural light is limited, the next best thing is fluorescent lighting. Some employers have even introduced sun lamps in order to ensure employees have access to light therapy to battle seasonal slumps.

Offering a wellness initiative is a great way to assist employees in making lifestyle changes that will encourage them to make healthier choices. Making just a few changes may be all your employees need to avoid seasonal slumps and boost their efficiency in the workplace.

The effects of the winter blues can be even more complex if your workforce is not taking the time to eat properly. A great way to encourage and even model healthy eating for employees is to provide them with access to fresh, healthy foods. It can be as simple as placing a bowl of oranges in the staff break room.

Employees will certainly appreciate such a thoughtful gesture, and access to a healthy dose of vitamin C can help them feel more energized. Your company might also consider replacing vending machines, which are often laden with unhealthy food choices, with foods that are healthier and fresher.

Give Employees a Daily Mental Health Break

When employees are already feeling stressed because of the winter blues, they need additional opportunities to manage that stress. Giving them the opportunity to dedicate a few minutes each day to journaling or writing is a great way to help them feel more confident, rejuvenated, and ready to work.

You might also wish to consider offering your employees the option to take an online course, such as Time and Stress Management. This course teaches your employees how to achieve a balanced life with time for work as well as relaxation, relationships, and fun.

Encourage Employees to Have a Healthy Balance Between Work and Life

It’s vital to employee productivity and morale that staff members feel as though they have a good balance between work and life. Unfortunately, management often thinks this kind of balance is ultimately up to employees, when in reality, it is the responsibility of management to encourage staff to create a healthy balance.

A few ways to do this include offering options like telecommuting, flexible working hours, and child care services. These options ensure that employees have ample time to enjoy their free time. The course Work Life Balance helps employees explore motivation and priorities.

Encourage Employees to Get Out of the Rut

This is actually a great time to try and shake things up a little and get people thinking about doing things differently. There is no reason to continue doing things the same old way, particularly if they are not producing results. Consider encouraging teamwork among your employees to come with solutions that will boost productivity and morale.

To some degree, feeling a bit of the winter blues is inevitable, but there is no need for it to interfere with employee productivity. Take a proactive approach can help management assist their employees in getting back on track.

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How to beat the winter blues and avoid seasonal slumps this winter

We live in a world now where everyone expects everyone else and everything to be fast. From fast internet connection and fast moving queues to fast speed to market and fast turnaround on investment, we want fast to be faster. In the context of product innovation in business, everyone knows that not moving fast enough spells death. However, the rate at which we innovate on existing products, for instance by pushing out new features faster, is just one side of the innovation coin. It is important to appreciate that, some times, in order to create good and wholesome things, patience is required.

The analogy that I like to use is that product innovation is a 2-lane affair. The lanes represent the two primary types of innovation – incremental and the non-incremental ones. They both have different roles to play to sustain and advance a business. There is the life on the fast lane, where improvements to different aspects of existing products or introduction of new features take place. Speed is of the essence here or the products risk falling behind. Most companies already have proper processes, resourcing and training in place to speed through the fast lane. The innovation that happens on this lane is referred to as incrementalor sustaining.

There are many examples of this type of innovation across a range of industries, from FMCG businesses producing physical goods to online media or technology companies offering search services to connect customers and providers. An example in the consumer goods space is the continual extension to the line of soft drinks bearing the Coca-Cola brand. Together, products such as Vanilla Coke and Coke No Sugar have enabled a 130-year old brand to tap into emerging trends and bring something new to its existing customers over the years. In the case of Go1, its search products undergo continuous improvement following the approach described in my other blog post to make the results that they produce for the users increasingly more relevant.

The reality is you can only go so far by being faster, cheaper or tastier before you hit the end of the runway. In other words, innovation beyond the incremental is required for companies to remain competitive over the long run. It is definitely the case of disrupt or be disrupted. This is when the second lane comes in, for innovation beyond the incremental ones. This type of innovation can range from solving an existing problem differently to offering solutions to problems that users do not even know exist. The different terms used to describe this type of innovation include breakthrough, radical and disruptive. Some of these labels have more nuanced usage, as in the case of disruptive innovation in the book Innovator’s Dilemma.

More often than not, the initiatives travelling on the slow lane are few and far between. According to some sources, around 70% of innovation is incremental in nature. As for the rest on the slow lane, we hear companies lament about their inability to translate the more ‘absurd’ ideas into the next big things that can propel them ahead of competition. The common excuses are around the distraction of day-to-day business activities which take attention, time and resources away from this type of innovation.

The fact that companies claim they struggle to innovate beyond incremental using the existing setup and processes is an indicator that we need something more. But the question is what? The right kind of thought process, approach to collaboration and leadership are some of the key ingredients. With proper training and other forms of support in place, I have seen businesses move the dial on innovation. We will cover the 3 critical pillars to foster and sustain breakthrough innovation in detail through the lens of my experiences across a range of roles in the next blog post

Note: The content discussed in this 2-part blog post was presented at Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) New Zealand in Auckland for internal staff learning & development purposes in conjunction with the 2017 Sir Peter Blake Trust Leadership Week in New Zealand.

At Go1 we parter with some of the best learning content providers from across the world to help you get the best training for your team. All of our Content Providers are experts in their fields, and today we are taking a closer look at Vado, and why their content is a key part of Go1 Premium.

As Vado co-founder Cindy Pascale mentions, Vado are an off the shelf eLearning course provider that specialize in management development, leadership development, employee business skills and HR compliance courses.

Vado have just under 500 course included in Go1 Premium. If you are looking for micro-learning and mobile optimised courses, Vado are the provider for you. Vado's course are design in a way that allows the learner to apply the course on the job. This means that all of the courses start with a short video that is designed to talk about the skills you're about to learn, why the content is important, and the benefits of completing the course. From here the learner is given exercises to complete on the job so they can practise and further develop the skill. These are small but important exercises that will reinforce the learning from the videos.

All courses have step by step instructions for the learner, it's a proven and prescribed effective process that is going to help learners become really good at that skill. To finish up, all course end with a quiz or assessment.

Vado strongly believes in the 70:20:10 model for learning (see below), and believe that they are the only eLearning courseware provider that plays a role in both the 70% and the 10% of this model rather than completely focussing on the 10% of formal training like many other training providers. By incorporating the training exercises into the courses, learner are going to develop on the job within the 70% of on the job learning too.

Vado are also constantly adding new courses to their offering, with new content being created as end users find a demand for training on a specific topic. One recent addition that Vado have made has been a course to cover the new legislation around Sexual Harassment Training in New York State - which is available on the Go1 Platform.

Go1 are proud to have Vado as a Content Partner, and hope you enjoy their courses!

At Go1 we believe in bringing the learning community together so that we can all share our knowledge and help everyone to improve the way that they learn, and train their team. To support this we are very excited to announce our first Brisbane Learning & Technology Meetup this month!

Our first meeting will be taking place on July 18 in the Go1 Fortitude Valley offices between 6pm and 8pm, and we will have food and drinks for all attendees.

We have some great events planned for the future, but we wanted to kick things off by getting some of Brisbane's best learning content creators down to speak about how they go about creating effective learning content.

Jacque Lachmund, CEO of Australia CEO Challenge
and
Schalk Pienaar, CEO of Croomo and Clui

Jacque Lachmund is the CEO of Australia CEO Challenge which provides Workplace Domestic and Family Violence Training. Jacque is extremely passionate about educating and supporting businesses to make workplaces safe environments, where conversations about Domestic and Family Violence can take place, without creating further stigma, shame and fear. Jacque will be speaking about providing training on sensitive topics in the workplace.

As Croomo and Clui’s CEO, Schalk is a strong advocate of innovation and is focused on carving a new path in an exciting landscape that is reshaping business and enterprise training delivery. Schalk will be speaking about best practices for creating a more engaging training experience, and what you can start doing today to improve the way you deliver your learning content.

Both of our speakers will be holding an interactive conversation that will allow you to be involved in the conversation and walk away from this meetup with some solutions that you start applying in your workplace straight away!

Go1 to host first Brisbane Learning and Technology Meetup

Cyber-crime is a really big problem now! But an even bigger problem is that many companies just don’t know it yet, nor understand the likelihood of a cyber breach occurring and its financial impact. And in the fight against cyber-crime, your staff are literally your biggest asset because they are also the hackers biggest target!

So why is cyber-crime so bad now? It’s because an entire worldwide industry has been built around hacking, with the sole purpose of stealing information and money, and most people on the planet are a potential target. We’re not talking about 12-year-olds sitting behind a computer trying to get bragging rights anymore- those days are long gone. We’re now talking about things like organised crime, renting hacking software out to people with no technical skills, and essentially a never-ending supply of hackers trying to scam you for whatever they can, in increasingly ingenious ways.

They have constantly adapted to find the weaknesses and target them, so they’re generally not wasting time trying to crack into your company’s IT systems through your security hardware and software. They now take the easy way out and target staff by doing things like:

Sending out a multitude of trick emails (phishing).

Phoning and pretending to be someone they’re not, gaining trust and manipulating (social engineering).

Walking into your secured office confidently behind someone else and stealing logins, information or hardware (tailgating).

And the big-ticket item here is tricking staff with emails because it can be done in mass volumes, it’s cheap, quick, and successful. Accordingly, up to 85% of cyber security breaches are initiated via staff clicking on something they shouldn’t!

Scary stuff for sure, and frankly if you don’t do something about it you become the soft target. Think of the house on the street with the security doors, window screens and burglar alarm. Too hard,… move on. But the easy target gets burgled, and then it gets burgled again in another month. Hacking is the same – once they’re in, there’s a good chance you won’t even know and they’ll keep stealing your information and using it to their advantage. Your customers data can be leaked, your files can be all encrypted on a certain date, and suddenly you have no business and you probably have to report the breach to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and your customers (via the mandatory data breach notification scheme).

Then the pain really starts because you incur costs due to:

Lost information and the above costs are exactly why 60% of companies that suffer a major cyber security breach are out of business in 6 months or less. Yes, that’s a very confronting statistic!

Scare yourself into action if you have to

Something I like to relate cyber security awareness to is riding my motorbike. It’s a risky proposition, and to ward off the complacency I sometimes watch motorbike crashes on YouTube. Weird as that may sound, I do it to remind myself of the dangers, how to spot them, and how to deal with them. I then implement what I have learnt.

So what should we be doing to be proactive?

Check your IT contracts for limit of liability. Companies supplying your IT services should own their failings that lead to a breach, and not pass them onto you.

Ensure your backup regime is incredibly robust. And you want to store backup data at regular intervals, do regular tests to ensure the backups are working, and that you can successfully restore the data.

Develop “Disaster Recovery” and “Business Continuity” plans. When things go really bad, it’s really helpful to have plans to follow so you remain as functional as possible and minimise the disruption to your customers. You also need to test and refine these plans.

Develop policies and procedures for how to protect against, detect and respond to cyber security breaches.

Test the security of your systems with a penetration testing service.

And consider how you train your staff. This is not a compliance exercise where you want to tick a box – you want your staff to be fully engaged and learning so that they retain the knowledge and implement it.

So, if you’re going to use an online course, make sure it’s interesting enough that people don’t go into autopilot, or multi-task. If you’re going to use an onsite trainer to maximise engagement, make sure they are fun and knowledgeable! Why do I mention fun / interesting? Let’s face it, cyber security is not everyone’s cup of tea, so it’s incredibly important to ensure your staff are fully immersed in the training!

It’s no longer a matter of “if” a breach will happen, but “how often” and “how bad”. Be proactive and use your staff to greatly reduce the probability of a cyber breach, and the impact it will have on your company and your customers.

Mike Ouwerkerk is an onsite face to face trainer for cyber security awareness, predominately in South East Queensland, but also interstate. He can be booked through the Go1 Training Assist program.

Book Cyber Security Training using Go1 Training Assist

In the fight against hackers, you must use your staff!

First aid training is important for anyone, but it’s especially critical for people working in the childcare industry. Frequent training is necessary to ensure childcare workers are trained in the most effective and current skills while also keeping already learned skills at the forefront of their minds.

The ability of a childcare worker to respond effectively in an emergency situation is critical because children are at such a risk for unintentional injuries, such as burns, poisoning, falls, etc. Research has shown that most injuries to children result from the following causes:

First aid training provides childcare workers with the critical skills they need to respond effectively in such situations. These skills range from basic first aid steps to how to perform life-saving techniques, such as CPR. Obtaining first aid training is important because an individual’s natural first response might not be the best otherwise.

Online learning using a Learning Management System offers a flexible and easy way for childcare workers to obtain necessary training and qualifications. A Learning Management System, or LMS, is a software portal that makes it possible for learners to engage with course content offered by a variety of providers. Learners are provided with training through a variety of coursework, tutoring, quizzes, and assessments. Everything is conducted through the LMS.

Through the use of an online tool, it’s possible to consolidate all learning materials and related communication in a single location. For instance, the LMS allows for the recording of all training and qualifications. This reduces the need for third-party video hosting and emailed correspondence. In many ways, the LMS acts as a one-stop shop for necessary first aid training for childcare workers.

With a cloud-based system, getting started is easy. All that is required are registering an account and then populating the associated profile with relevant courses. The process is fast and easy. Employees can take required courses when it is most convenient for them without the need to travel.

The types of courses offered online in an e-learning format for childcare workers run the gamut. Most courses are short, which means employees can obtain the training they need without taking up a lot of valuable time.

In a childcare setting, accidents can occur at any time. Regardless of the number of precautions taken, there is always the risk for an accident taking place. When an accident does occur, it’s imperative that workers be prepared. That preparation could mean the difference between life and death for a child. This four-part course is designed to teach childcare workers what to do in an emergency, including how they should initially respond, and basic first aid guidelines. Modules in this course include:

This module teaches the proper procedure for responding to an accident scene. This includes best practices for protecting oneself from bodily fluids and blood, how to perform hands-only CPR, and how to aid both a conscious and unconscious victim.

This module discusses the proper techniques for providing first aid for shock, burns, scalds, and bleeding injuries. A discussion regarding the different types of bleeding injuries is offered, including how to treat each type of injury. This module also covers the symptoms of shock and how to provide aid to a victim suffering from shock. The proper steps for treating burns and scalds are also given.

Electric shock, head injuries, spinal injuries, and fractures

This module discusses the proper first aid measures for treating head and spinal injuries, electric shock injuries, and fractures. This part of the course also provides information on how to make and apply simple splints for fractures, what to do if you suspect a child has suffered from one of these types of injuries, and the symptoms of spinal and head injuries.

Poisoning, environmental hazards, and other medical emergencies

When children play outdoors, they are at risk for a variety of injuries, including extreme temperatures, drowning, insect stings, and snakebites. This module discusses the proper methods for rendering first aid to a child experiencing an emergency situation, such as hypothermia, hyperthermia, snakebite, and insect stings. Additionally, this module provides information regarding poisoning and other emergency situations, such as anaphylaxis, asthma attacks, and seizures.

This course focuses specifically on allergies and anaphylaxis, both of which present serious risks for children. In this module, information is presented on the types of allergies; allergy signs, symptoms, and management; and signs, symptoms, and management of anaphylaxis.

This course provides critical information on asthma, including the triggers of asthma; preventers and relievers; and signs, symptoms, and management of asthma.

This module provides critical information on first aid for seizures and strokes, including triggers of seizures; signs and symptoms of minor seizures; phases of major seizures; seizure management; and signs, symptoms, and management of stroke.

This course covers information on best practices for treating trauma injuries, such as the types of head injuries; spinal, crush, and abdominal injuries; eye and ear injuries; and signs, symptoms, and management of such injuries.

This course provides information on first aid for poisoning emergencies, including poisoning management; needle stick injury management; types of bites and stings; and signs, symptoms, and management of bites and stings.

Improve how you manage your Childcare Training with Go1

The best way to manage your childcare training

As an employer, you naturally want to make certain that new employees are onboarded as quickly and efficiently as possible. Bringing new employees onboard in an efficient manner helps your company save time, money, and hassles. Even so, the onboarding process is not always as easy as it might seem. It’s certainly not as easy as processing new hire paperwork and telling the employee where to report.

This is particularly true when it comes to the construction industry. When bringing new hires into the construction workplace, there are many areas to cover to make sure your new employees know what to expect and how to stay safe on the job.

Why Onboarding in the Construction Business Is So Important

While on-the-job safety is critical for all industries, construction takes it to an entirely new level. Construction workers must operate heavy equipment while lifting materials weighing tons. Such tasks often take place in noisy, outdoor environments. For these reasons alone, it is imperative to make onboarding in the construction industry seamless and comprehensive. New hires must understand proper operating and safety procedures not only for their own safety but also for the safety of others. Additionally, workers need to understand how to complete projects in a timely manner and with the highest quality.
Construction companies typically acknowledge that their workers are among their most valuable assets. This makes getting off to a good start with new hires crucial to a company’s bottom line. Given the effort, cost, and time associated with hiring new employees, it is always in the best interest of the business to make certain the onboarding process is as effective and efficient as possible.

Unfortunately, new hires are often thrown into new jobs and expected to begin working immediately. While some people are capable of performing adequately in this type of situation, that is certainly not the case for everyone. Furthermore, this approach could affect the length of time the employee will remain with the company. By fostering a positive onboarding experience, companies can ensure they are viewed as a desirable place to work. Over the long term, this can reduce the company’s turnover rate and reduce the cost of bringing on new employees.

Tips to Make Onboarding in the Construction Workplace Easier

For companies looking for tips for onboarding in the construction workplace made easy, it is important to understand that proper onboarding must form a foundation. As such, onboarding should include orientation to the job and your company, along with safety training.

First, the onboarding process for bringing in new hires in the construction industry should be interesting. The onboarding process does not have to be boring. Instead, it can be viewed as an opportunity to help new hires become acquainted with veteran workers while introducing them to your company culture.
It’s also important for construction companies to establish a training process that is both clear and concise. New hires must be provided with the key information they need in order to perform their job effectively. Workers who are unsure how to perform their job are not only more likely to become dissatisfied with their job but also at a higher risk for sustaining an injury.

One of the reasons that many construction companies do not feel as though they offer a comprehensive onboarding process is because they simply do not have time. That is completely understandable, given the number of other things that can consume an HR manager’s time. One way to resolve this issue is through online training.

Online training helps construction companies maintain a consistent onboarding process, ensuring that each new hire receives precisely the same information. You can be assured there are no information gaps that might lead to a new hire being unprepared or uninformed regarding critical issues. In the event that information needs to be updated, you can handle that easily, as well. There is never a concern that your training information is out of date.

Besides basic safety procedures, your construction company can also use virtual learning to teach new employees about your company culture and organizational values.

Additionally, online training can also be performed in a more time efficient manner. You no longer need to wait until someone is available to go over the information with a new hire. Instead, information can be presented at whatever time is most convenient for your company and your new worker. There is absolutely no wasted time. Whether you need to train one new hire or a group of new workers, the training will be quickly and easily available at any time.
Since online onboarding eliminates the need for an actual classroom, it also gets rid of travel-related expenses associated with bringing new hires and HR personnel to a classroom setting. In this regard, online training can help your company to save on expenses.

Online training for onboarding can also be helpful in a variety of other circumstances. For example, suppose you have an employee who appears to need a refresher course on a particular subject. With online onboarding training, that employee can quickly revisit the topic in question.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive yet effective way to bring new hires onboard with your construction company, online training is a great way to do so.

Simplify your onboarding program with Go1 today! 

Simplifying onboarding in the construction industry

Lost time due to sickness takes a toll on not only the employee but also the business. While sickness cannot be completely avoided, every sick day that an employee takes can create havoc on a business. Unlike vacation days, which can be planned for in advance, sick days typically come completely unannounced. As a result, it can be difficult for management to plan for those days. This often results in a complete upheaval for the business, affecting management, other employees, and even customers. Clearly, it’s imperative that employers find an effective method for helping employees stay as healthy as possible.

E-learning offers a flexible and easily accessible method for educating employees on best practices for improving their health. Not only is e-learning an easily offered education tool in the workplace, but it also happens to be the preferred learning method for millennials. Considering that millennials comprise approximately one-third of today’s workforce, it certainly makes sense for employers to consider the preferences of this demographic when developing training solutions.

With e-learning, employers gain the advantage of maximum flexibility. This can be of significant importance when scheduling time for training. Since all the tools and materials for the courses are prerecorded and digital, training can be offered at any time that is most convenient for management and employees.

Lost productivity due to illness costs businesses far too much money each year. Fortunately, at least some of this is reversible. This can be easily accomplished through specific e-learning courses focusing on reducing the risk of work-related illness and improving one’s health.

Such courses can run include helping employees learn how to balance work and life, so that they are more productive without becoming overworked. For example, employees can learn how to manage their schedules to ensure they have time for working out at the gym and other physical fitness activities. Such activities are not only important for stress relief but also crucial for staying physically fit and healthy. The more physically fit employees are, the less likely they are to become ill. Furthermore, e-learning courses can be used to provide health and wellness information to employees who live in areas where health services might be limited.

Courses to Consider for Helping Employees Boost Their Health

The types of courses offered by an employer to assist employees in reducing their risk of work-related illness may vary based on industry and area. However, there are some courses that all employers should consider offering. These courses include:

This course shows employees how to achieve a balanced life while still having time for work as well as relaxation, relationships, and fun. The focus of this course is goal-centered time management. Employees will learn how to work smarter rather than harder. They also will learn effective stress management techniques, so they will be able to build resilience even while under pressure.

When it comes to keeping employees happy, healthy, and productive, psychological health is just as important as physical health. Regardless of the industry, it is vital that employees be able to deal with challenging situations effectively. This course is designed to assist employees in balancing psychological health matters successfully.

A lack of understanding regarding nutritional eating has led to a global obesity epidemic. This can have a significant effect on the workforce. To address this crisis, it’s important for employees to be educated about strategies for healthful eating. Studies have shown that the consumption of heavily processed foods has contributed to increasing rates of chronic disease. The good news is that many of these diseases are preventable. This course provides employees with both the information and the skills they need to distinguish between foods that threaten their health and foods that will optimize their health.

It’s common for employees to suffer from a variety of health issues, including aches and pains. Unfortunately, those aches and pains can affect productivity and missed work days. Acupressure has been proven to be an effective method for treating everyday issues. With this course, employees will learn how to relieve their own pain without the need for medications using traditional massage points. The course instructs learners how to locate the right massage points for headache and migraine relief, flu relief, allergy relief, anxiety relief, asthma relief, depression relief, and more.

Yoga for All: Lose Weight and Detox to Better Health

This course instructs learns how to take advantage of three authentic yoga practices to lose weight, sleep better, and detox in a safe and completely gentle manner. Through this course, employees will learn how to perform more than 100 yoga poses to increase flexibility, strengthen their core, and tone their muscles. Instruction regarding meditation is also provided, showing learners techniques for guided meditation and breathing exercises. Additionally, learners will receive information about the Saathvic diet, including information on the benefits of natural foods and how they can accelerate weight loss.

Lost work days and productivity can be among the most serious issues faced by management in the workplace. However, managers can take steps to assist employees in reducing illness while boosting their health. E-learning offers an effective method for delivering vital information to employees, allowing them to take greater control of their health and wellness.

As lucrative as the hospitality industry can be, managers frequently face a number of challenges in terms of retaining employees while remaining in compliance with health and safety standards. The challenges faced by hospitality industry management include:

Maintaining a reputation for high-quality service

Encompassing not just hotel and food service businesses, the term hospitality industry also includes transportation, tourist attractions, and amusement parks. Around the world, the hotel and restaurant business alone is a nearly $3 trillion industry. It is estimated that tens of millions of people are employed in the hospitality industry. As such, there is naturally a lot on the line when it comes to retaining employees while adhering to compliance standards.

Management must ensure that employees are properly prepared for practically any scenario. At the same time, it’s vital for hospitality industry management to be assured their employees are satisfied in an effort to keep their turnover rate low. The best way to accomplish all these goals is with an effective yet convenient training delivery method. Online training can accomplish all of these goals.

The hospitality industry is dependent on delivering high customer service. Along with this territory come insurance and regulation concerns. Having a permit taken away or a lawsuit brought against a business can quickly spell disaster. Therefore, it’s necessary for managers to ensure employees are properly trained on health and safety issues. Online training, such as Work Health and Safety Standards, makes it easy for hospitality businesses to ensure their employees can avoid potentially detrimental incidences.

The consequences of a fire can be devastating in any industry, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage while putting lives at risk. In the hospitality industry, the consequences of a fire can be more serious. With the assistance of an online fire safety awareness course, managers can ensure their employees and guests stay safe. This course helps employees learn about fire prevention, minimizing fire hazards, and how to detect fires.

Businesses in the hospitality industry are often prime targets for terror organizations. Online training courses, such as a bioterrorism awareness course, can provide employees in the hospitality industry with the information necessary to recognize the elements of a terrorist attack, prepare for an attack, and understand the proper actions to take in the event of an attack.

Compared to other industries, the hospitality industry tends to have a higher turnover rate. A number of factors contribute to this higher turnover rate, including the fact that hospitality jobs tend to be part time and seasonal in nature. An effort among employees to upgrade their positions combined with lower-than-average wages contribute to higher turnover rates. As a result, the hospitality industry has to deal with near-constant onboarding of new employees. This can create numerous training challenges. Yet, managers must rise to the challenge and ensure that new employees have necessary training as quickly as possible. Online training makes it possible for managers to meet their objectives quickly and easily. When employees feel as though employers take a genuine interest in their well-being, they are much more likely to stay rather than searching for new employment.

Developing a reputation for quality customer service

Any business in the hospitality industry is dependent on maintaining a reputation for quality customer service. This is necessary for not only attracting new customers but also retaining current customers. Even a single incident, such as food poisoning, can cause a business’s reputation to suffer. Conversely, when a business is well known for safe practices and cleanliness, customers will naturally increase. A food safety and sanitation course can help make sure an unfortunate incident does not destroy a business’s reputation. The best way to ensure a solid reputation for customer service is to make certain employees are trained to meet high safety and health service standards.

Although these factors demonstrate the challenges associated with health and safety training for hospitality industry employees, it is now easier than ever to meet those standards with online training. Managers can streamline training while taking advantage of an easy-to-use delivery system. As a result, training becomes more effective and flexible. Online training is also easily scalable to meet the changing needs of a business’s workforce.

The reality is that accidents can happen at any time in any industry. In the hospitality industry, managers are responsible for the health and safety of not only their employees but also every guest that enters their establishment. Employees must understand how to protect themselves, co-workers, and customers. Effective training ensures no one gets hurt and your business is not penalized for failure to adhere to regulations. Online health and safety training is the ideal tool to teach employees how they can make the best decisions for their safety, for the safety of their customers, and to avoid potential hazards and risks.

Safety and security are among the most important issues within the hospitality industry. From ensuring that guests have an exceptional experience to protecting everyone who walks in the door, managers have a tremendous responsibility. As challenging as that responsibility may be, it does not have to be difficult. Online training can provide the tools hospitality managers need to keep their establishments safe, reduce employee turnover, and provide guests with a superior experience.

Why is safety training important in the hospitality industry

There’s no doubt that possessing a well-trained sales staff is tremendously important in the apparel & fashion industry. After all, when a manager or store owner is not around, who do customers turn to for questions or concerns?

However, according to Sales Readiness Group, a research report by CSO Insights discovered that under 10% of sales organizations said their training program went above their expectations while only 33% felt that the program met their expectations. That means over half of companies were unsatisfied with their approach to training staff.

With this in mind, it’s important that we discuss why and how the right training can ensure the prosperity of a business.

The cost of providing poor training for sales staff

But before we delve into online training, let’s talk specifically about what can happen if you choose not to provide quality training for your sales staff.

For one, improper or lack of training of sales employees could result in loss of sales and make it difficult to achieve true customer loyalty. In fact, 71% of customers claimed that trustworthy communication is a major reason they make a purchase.

Research has shown that poor training can lead to a 20% turnover rate. It’s clear to see that employees truly do represent a company, and how trained they are is reflected in a business’s sales.

Another problem with failing to offer high-quality training is the fact that employees are more likely to forget important information with time. Not only does poor training result in faster loss of content, but failing to occasionally retrain employees can do it too. In fact, Gryphon Sales Strategy cites one survey that found that 84% of training information is lost 90 days after training.

This is where the importance of proper staff training comes in. Providing enjoyable, content-filled training for your employees can ensure your staff will pay attention and better retain the information you give them in your materials.

Employees have greater flexibility about when and where they get trained and can do so from a variety of devices

Slower learners benefit significantly from online versus in-person training as many online courses are self-paced

Online training can often be more enjoyable for staff

Implementing training online is less of a hassle for employers as already-made online training courses can be found

Training materials can be reviewed online if an employee forgets certain information

Many millennials are especially excited about online training as they thrive in versatile and innovative environments

Online training saves time and added stress on the employer’s side

Online training courses are great to reiterate sales or communication strategies or to educate staff on lengthy, more complex topics in an organized manner

If a company has out-of-state employees, they can still receive quality training without the need to travel long distances

Once employers offer online training, it makes it easier to set up future sessions as there is a reduced need for employers to be involved. With that said, an employer who utilizes online training may be more likely to offer recurring training than companies who only offer on-site training. This is a huge advantage for any organization.

Get online sales training courses from Go1

Best of all, there is no need for you to create your own training courses. Forget putting together information packets or documents, filming videos, or creating PowerPoints to train employees. You can still adequately train your sales staff without doing it all yourself.

Through Go1, training sales staff is easy with online training courses that are already made and ready to go. Go1 offers over 600 online course options that range from Retail – Managing Yourself, Personal Presentation & Hygiene, to Products and Merchandise, to Effective Communication.

You can even have immediate access to our most popular courses that go beyond sales and delve into leadership, customer service, personal development, and other types of valuable content.

Go1 courses can be either self-paced or scheduled and help educate your team members on endless topics - from compliance to hiring policy and everything in between.

There’s no doubt about it: online training is the training of the future when it comes to working with your sales staff.

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

Training sales staff is easy with online training

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