Rob Simpson, managing director of SCA Timber (UK), outlines the benefits of training
There’s a well-quoted figure from Harvard’s Business Review: reducing customer defections by as little as 10-15% can double your profits. Customers remain loyal when staff provide good service in a confident, knowledgeable and friendly manner. A lesser known figure from Sibson & Co is equally pertinent: high staff turnover can reduce corporate earnings by some 35%. Customers like the security of a regular contact: it builds trust and develops a feeling of partnership.
These two numbers have their common root in a firm’s treatment of its people. Feeling undervalued or overwhelmed by the job is often a key factor in the departure of staff. Providing a more structured career path based on training, as is practised in other industries, could help companies in the timber trade to improve their staff retention – and potentially their profits.
A company that offers training is seen to ‘care’ about its people. This does more than produce a woolly, feel-good factor. A MORI poll in 2001 found that high-flying graduates are likely to look for jobs with companies which demonstrate their values. To attract the brightest and best to our industry we need to recognise the key role training plays in recruitment.
Not looking for high-flying graduates? Then what about staff who can build relationships with customers and increase your sales? Companies we’ve worked with report a noticeable return on training investment within months of a trainee qualifying with the IWSc Timber Studies Award. Increased selling abilities come from solid knowledge: selling the right timber for the right purpose leads to greater customer satisfaction and retention.
Cost-effective training is available. What’s needed is a central source of training information. The TTF is in an automatic position to take on this role and to encourage all involved to develop courses which complement each other and cover the whole sector. Trained staff can represent a valuable asset to your business, building trust and goodwill.
Is it a price worth paying? You decide.
