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Last Updated on April 18, 2023 by Editor Futurescope
No workforce sets out to be incompetent. So, if you’re finding yours (or certain individuals) to be frustratingly so, you may need to look at the resources that you’re providing for them. Of course, from time to time you may get people who are particularly hard to train, but this could be due more to attitude than ability.
To get the best out of your workforce and get them so that they’re all highly competent within your business you’ll have to put some effort in by giving them a little more help.
1. Training and mentorship
Offering training and mentorship to your employees can be the first step to gaining a more competent workforce. Often a worker’s incompetence can be based on a lack of knowledge or total naivety of a situation and too often, the worker is reprimanded rather than educated.
Everybody learns at different rates so training on its own may not stick; you’ll also have to offer a hands-on approach and have designated mentors who are personable, and available for support as well as for their knowledge within the desired areas of your business.
Of course, this could initially affect the work output of those chosen to be mentors as it’s likely that they’ll frequently be called upon for their input or advice, so only choose those with a lot of patience and a reduced workload to lessen the additional stress that they may feel.
2. Specialized software
Providing your workforce with specialized software will also cut down on the number of errors or mistakes that are made which can be misconstrued as employee incompetence. Of course, you’ll have to make sure that your teams are capable of using the software and know what it’s doing for them and your business to get the most benefit from your investment.
Some departments within your business such as the HR department have a lot of different areas to juggle and if they get some aspects of their work wrong, such as the payroll, stress and tension can spread through your business like wildfire. So, providing this department with specialist HR Software that can help ease the pressure from onboarding, managing employees, and payroll and more will not only help your HR department cope with their own workloads and perform more competently, but will also decrease stress levels in your workforce and incite confidence in your business’s capabilities.
3. Free-flowing information
Undoubtedly, incompetence can stem from being either misinformed or not informed. The way around this is to make sure that everyone is aware of what’s happening within the company as well as on a more individual level of what their job role entails and what’s expected of them.
Of course, allowing them access to the data they need to perform their job roles well goes without saying. However, you also have to make sure that this data is updated in real-time. If it isn’t, then you can’t expect your workers to get everything right.
When you hold meetings with your employees you should always make sure that the information given in those meetings is also provided by email, so your employees have a point of reference to visit. When it comes to dealing with customers, having the correct type of software with enough storage will mean that your employees can add notes to either refresh their own memory, or permit other employees can understand previous correspondence and pick up where others have left off.
4. Offer rewards
There are very few employees who set out to be incompetent at their jobs and you’ll find for the most part that your employees want to please you rather than frustrate you. You’ll soon find that presenting rewards or offering valued incentives when a job is done well will very quickly move your workforce from being one that you may feel doesn’t care about the business’s situation or reputation to one that’s actively doing its best for you and for your company.
When it comes to offering rewards for jobs done right and well, you don’t have to pay out huge sums of money. Saying thank you in person could be enough for a start, and for those who go out of their way to be helpful or are making a true effort with their performance you may want to offer them a little something such as a company swag item, a small goodie bag or hamper that they’ll appreciate or a voucher for a local restaurant.
So, to wrap it all up
Incompetence can stem from a lack of knowledge and confidence. Providing your workforce with software that will help them in their job roles, as well as training in how to use it along with all the relevant information (including a willing and approachable mentor) that they require, will no doubt eliminate this. However, training will have to be in-depth and ongoing with added incentives or rewards for those individuals or teams putting in additional effort and gaining excellent results along the way.
