Staff Training

by Diane M. Calabrese | Published March 2026

 

 

Initial, ongoing, special? Which training is most important?

No superlatives here. It’s all important.

So just commit to a plan and stay with it. Easy enough. Or perhaps not.

“The most challenging component of staff training is recognizing that not everyone learns in the same way,” says Missy Tanguay, the business development manager at Deco Products Inc. in Denver, CO. “Taking the time to understand each employee’s learning style and ensuring the process is clearly understood is a key element of effective training.”

True, the individualized approach takes time. But it is time spent well, explains Tanguay. “When employees feel supported and confident in their understanding, training is far more successful.”

Initial training or getting new employees up-to-speed and immersed in their responsibilities — and verifying they can meet responsibilities, is just the starting point. What comes next is equally significant.

And team members must understand the significance. “The hardest part is getting staff to buy into the importance of staff training and making sure people use it consistently after the initial training ends,” says Roy G. Chappell, CEO of Chappell Supply and Equipment in Oklahoma City, OK.

The growth and stability of a company demand that planning include training for staff. “Staff training should update and evolve as the business grows and evolves,” says Chappell.

The measures of success in training come in many ways. Among them are “increased sales, productivity, and fewer mistakes,” says Chappell.

The best-structured training coupled with the deepest understanding of how employees learn will still meet the reality of human nature. An employee may achieve the equivalent of perfection in performance on completion of training. But then, some backsliding occurs.

“Retention and compliance” are the most difficult parts of staff training, says Linda Chambers, brand and sales manager at GCE/Soap Warehouse Brand in Norcross, GA. And she advises how to give each facet its due.

“First, finding good people and keeping them once they are trained” is a must, says Chambers. “Too many get training then leave to start working for themselves.

“Second, having training stick and followed, not ignored when you are not watching” is also a must, continues Chambers. “People grow lax, skip steps, don’t follow protocols and that is where errors and safety issues will come up that can hurt customers’ property, the employee and your business.”

A business owner knows when something has gone amiss with training. Whatever has gone wrong, a correction in further instruction has to be made quickly.

“You need to look for the reason something is not working and then change one thing at a time so you can see what helps, hurts or doesn’t make it change,” explains Chambers. “If you change too many factors at once, it is hard to know what change was truly making a difference.”

Ongoing training of staff via a subtract, replace, or modify approach can extract a lot of time. “The problem is knowing how much time to allow between each new change to be able to see the difference,” says Chambers.

Staff can be assessed on their competence in many ways. But one of the best informal indicators that they are doing all they should to meet their responsibilities comes from customer feedback.

“When customers tell you they are happy with your work, commend a staff member’s performance or give you referrals that bring you new business” that’s a great indicator of successful training, says Chambers. And success at the individual business level translates to success for the industry at large.

Chambers says that she has a concern that there are many business owners who still do not fully understand their responsibilities to train their employees as defined by OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (We share that concern.)

“I find contractors all the time that do not know or tend to ignore the fact that OSHA has jurisdiction over any business that has paid employees,” says Chambers. “And they have duties to those employees that are governmentally mandated.”

The mandated training by OSHA (OSHA.gov) applies to any business that has one employee or more. A good refresher on the scope and expectations of OSHA can be had by reviewing the one-page FAQ via https://www.osha.gov/faq/

 

Structure and substance

 

Mandated training, such as that from OSHA or an accrediting body, will typically provide if not a script, a structure to follow closely. That’s helpful but there’s still a great deal left to the discretion of the trainer/business owner.

All training requires a harmonious blending of structure (how to get it done) and substance (what’s to be learned). There are any number of vendors who offer fee-based guidance and training assistance; and they can tailor programs to meet trainees via any mode of communication, including in person.

There’s also quite a robust amount of cost-free assistance available through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM.gov). With its purview over government employees, OPM aids federal entities in their efforts to align the training and development of employees with the mission, goals and objectives of the entity.

OPM advocates for individual development plans (IDPs) and anyone who has ever applied for a federal job – some states also use the tool, knows the emphasis put on IDPs. Although the individual plans may exceed the detail to which business owners responsible for sustaining and maintaining a profitable company may want to commit, much of the OPM advice can be useful in training.

Moreover, established companies can find the IDP (or one of its many variants) useful in helping keep employees engaged in ongoing and special training. That is, if an employee sets individual goals – in keeping with the company’s goals, it can help ensure goals are met.

Companies may by law or by choice require certain certifications (and renewals) for instance. But for credentials that are optional, an employee with some version of an IDP may be more likely to carry through and attain them.

Coach or mentor, and type of coach, is one of the issues OPM takes on. We prefer to back up to the umbrella of ‘model’.

Everything each of us does in a day through interaction with others – whether in the digital or real words, makes us a model. For all the coaching – whether peer-to-peer or leader to subordinate, or mentoring (as in designated mentor and mentee), that takes place in a structured way, modeling may count for more.

In other words, when employees see the owner of their business go the extra distance to complete a job, they do the same. The owner or team leader takes advantage of learning opportunities (seminars, meetings, etc.), the employees are more likely to do the same. And so on.

A do-as-I-do atmosphere – modeling – may be only one of the ways of accomplishing ongoing training. Some may argue that it’s not the best. But a do-as-I-say (and not necessarily as I do) approach is indisputably the worst.

Mentoring and coaching work well with employees who are inclined toward independence and self-direction. But for employees that must be given a little push – like the hatchling that refuses to leave the nest, such methods can encourage dependence.

The result of dependency is that instead of a mentee learning quickly and working well alone, two employees (mentor and mentee) may be doing one job for an extended period. That’s not productive, and a similar negative result can occur in a coaching setting.

Contracting for an outside coach – say for digital etiquette, may be a good investment because there’s clarity about the endpoint. In other words, coaching is over and the employee must function without help.

There’s never been a time in human history when there have not been distractions to people in their jobs. In some instances, the perils of being distracted from a task were obvious. For example, an iron worker could not afford to lose focus and stay safe. (None of us can and safety is an important outcome of all training.)

In the crowded office settings (and we have all seen them in movies – row after row of desks) of the mid-20^th century, there were plenty of distractions. And office gossip vines were as potent and prolific as texts and devices pinging.

But the goal of leaders of companies and teams has always been the same, and that is to retain focus on the work to be done. And to do it well.

Why is it important? That’s the question that often does not get answered by employers. Be assured, however, that employees ask it at least quietly.

Training – formal and informal – of employees should always include a statement or two about why it’s important. (It keeps the employee strong and it keeps the company strong.)

Yes, even refreshers for re-certification fortify because they remind us of what we may have forgotten and keep us apprised of what’s new (however slight a change). An employer should be candid about the importance of training.

Staff training benefits the company. It also benefits each employee. Stronger employees, stronger company, stronger economic sector. Everyone gains.