A changing workforce, where good employees are difficult to find and even harder to keep, is forcing employers to take a good look at the importance of staff training to the success of business.

Independent studies have shown that companies that spend more on training per employee tend to have higher profits. But some executives are not so sure. They want to see profitability charts and return on investment.

One way to reach this goal is to create an environment that not only reinforces your training approach, but also encourages its evolution and application; a "learning environment/organisation" where employees are continuously learning and using new skills to better perform their duties.

On the 13th of July and with the support of all staff the AECgroup embarked on a two-day journey; a strategy to help us move toward the future direction of our organisation's mission and goal. Our strategic retreat set in the beautiful bush land area of Binna Burra set the scene; an environment fostering open communication, loyalty and group spirit. Our aim: improvement strategies for our company and staff.

A little over 3 months have passed since that date and our business plans (for each division) are now well underway. It's taken precious company time to juggle this process around our client's work and there is still more to be done, but what's important is that we all took part in directing the future of our organisation. We identified what skills we lack and what knowledge we need to gain to progress the organisation and ourselves.

Seeing our new skills and knowledge applied at work and to our clients' projects will be our true measure of training success. By identifying key performance indicators and business goals our organisation will continue to prosper. We know that evolution and changing with the times is an important part of any organisation, but by reacting to the needs of staff we know we have taken one step forward by looking after our best asset.

Speak to Bill Andrew, our Director of Organisational Consulting, and discover the power of your people and the importance of change within every growing organisation.