MDA Training

Tag: Graduate Development

  • The 5 key benefits of commercial skills training

    The 5 key benefits of commercial skills training

    You may think ‘commercial skills training’ is just the latest buzzword amongst HR and training professionals, but in essence, commercial skills training is a fundamental part of ensuring your employees have the commercial acumen needed to benefit the key functions of the business.

    Commercial skills training provides each employee with insights into how the business makes money, the non-financial Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and also where the particular employee plays a part in organisational success.

    All commercial skills training is customised in terms of each person’s job role, skill set and any succession plans in place within the business, in order to create maximum impact.

    Commercial skills training is particularly relevant but not exclusive to the Millennial demographic. This group are set to make up over 75% of the average workforce by 2025, and good commercial skills are notably lacking generation wise.

    The questions to ask here are, will your business be ready? “Does every member of my organisation understand their role in the business?” and “Is every member of the workforce equipped with the commercial skills they need to be effective, and empowered, in their role?”

    Prioritising developing commercial skills early on allows the Millennial generation to familiarise themselves with the company’s missions and aims in a commercial context, early on – meaning when the time comes for them to take the ropes and make commercial decisions for the business, you have nothing to worry about. So, what are the 5 key benefits of commercial skills training?

    Empower your workforce and retain your staff

    Making your staff an integral part of the business can have great positive effects – giving staff training and ensuring they understand their value to you will see them stay, work hard and put the business first. Empowering your workforce with commercial skills and knowledge sharing is a great way to see a return on development.

    Drive change

    If you are looking to change the focus of your business, and get your teams to change their approach within it – commercial skills training can contribute to this process. With focused training, new ways of working can be instilled across an entire workforce and be used transformatively.

    Improve reporting

    How many employees truly understand the reporting you currently use in meetings, for weekly conference calls, daily team briefs or management meetings? If your workforce doesn’t truly grasp the figures, or KPIs being discussed, they will lack the confidence and insights to help drive performance.

    Gain financial awareness

    Commercial skills training explores each employee’s day-to-day activities in terms of how they impact the business financially, both positively and negatively.

    By adding this transparency, employees are able to understand the drivers of financial performance in the business and gain an understanding of how they personally can drive financial performance.

    Improve competitor awareness

    Commercial skills training focuses on competitor awareness and how this can be used to make sound commercial decisions. Understanding the marketplace means knowing your competition, who they are, what they do and why.

    An employee that understands the competition can positively impact business performance by adapting their activities or making suggestions about positive change and adaption.

    All elements of commercial skills training help to add value to your business, and your employees. Could your employees benefit from understanding all the elements that make up your business? We can help! Experiential training, fully immersed in your commercial context and management information will support your people with skills, knowledge and insights to better understand where they can add value and achieve organisational goals. 

    FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMMERCIAL SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAMMES WE PROVIDE, CONTACT MDA TODAY.

  • Talent management and tailored training solutions

    Talent management and tailored training solutions

    Many businesses put a high emphasis on attracting and recruiting talented individuals, but developing, managing and retaining them is of equal importance.

    Strategically managing the talent of your employees is invaluable to any business; contributing not only to staff retention, but also engagement and high workplace performance – adding subsequent value and return on investment.

    Identifying talent within your business

    In order to identify talented individuals within your business, ask yourself these questions:

    • Do they directly make a positive difference to the organisation?
    • Do they demonstrate the potential of moving on to higher levels of employment?

    It’s good practice to identify employees of high potential in order to begin work on their training, retention and development. A method more traditionally favoured by employers features a structured selection process in order to encourage employees to perform. This method can, however, be detrimental to employees not selected, particularly if sufficiently sensitive and practical feedback is not given – particularly among the Millennial generation.

    Talent management

    Talent management itself is the systematic attraction, identification, development, engagement, retention and deployment of individuals who are of particular value to an organisation, either in view of their high potential for the future or because they are fulfilling roles critical to the operation of the business.

    Tailored Training

    In the same way, you would desire a different skill set for different job roles, it is paramount that all training is specifically tailored towards your talent management strategy, ensuring you are nurturing the employees of the most value to your business.

    However, it is not just important to train those identified as having ‘high potential’. A lack of general training within the workplace is linked to low staff retention, so the key here is to identify the appropriate training in relation to each individual’s career path.

    Tailoring training by demographic

    Talent training programmes may include a range of activities, in a range of styles from formal training methods to more informal microlearning or mobile training methods. This relates directly to the job role and demographics of the individual in question.

    As identified in a variety of our other blogs, the working practices, and preferred training methods of different demographic groups is vast. Understanding how best to train each demographic group is paramount to conducting successful development and delivering a return on investment from each of your employees.

    The main difference between training Baby Boomers and training Millennials comes down to the fact Baby Boomers are happy to train as part of a team. They are the generation who work together to get things done, and as such, prefer group training methods.

    Millennials, however, known as the ‘me’ generation prefer to train individually as opposed to in groups in order to have their personal value recognised. As a generation, Millennials prefer training in the form of micro-learning as opposed to traditional formal training methods.

    This method also lends itself to be utilised for mobile learning. It’s easy to forget that Baby Boomers are also tech-savvy; thanks to the rise of the ‘silver surfer’ – 83% of Baby Boomers are now regular internet users, for this reason, a heavy technology focus within training is welcomed.

    FOR BESPOKE WORKPLACE TRAINING SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE YOUR TALENT MANAGEMENT PLAN, CONTACT MDA TODAY.

  • What is a commercial decision?

    What is a commercial decision?

    Commercial decision making is one of the current business buzzwords surrounding HR, recruitment and training. But what is a commercial decision, and why should organisations, regardless of whether they are a commercial enterprise, government department or not-for-profit charity take an interest?

    What is a commercial decision?

    A commercial decision is any decision that creates value for an organisation helping to achieve its underlying strategy, mission and aims.

    A commercial decision does not have to be a ‘big’ decision, but the person in the position of making the decision must be able to adopt a logical step-by-step approach and be able to evaluate the likely outcomes through a well-rounded consideration of all possible options.

    Making commercial decisions

    The key to making commercial decisions is to follow these six steps:

    Gather information

    Firstly, what do you know about the situation at hand? Do you have any experience in this area that could be of benefit? Or maybe a colleague has dealt with something similar in the past? Utilise any relevant data and analyse the information in front of you.

    And, if necessary, share this information with relevant colleagues to ensure you gain fresh perspectives you may not have otherwise considered.

    Generate ideas

    No idea should be ignored. Even if the idea is not right for the task at hand, it may prove useful for future problems or issues. With this in mind, and based on the analysis of the data gathered, you should look to brainstorm and generate the widest range of options for consideration.

    At this stage, it is important to keep on task as it is quite common to ‘do nothing’ given the all the options on the table or take an easier way out with a ‘halfway house’ option instead of implementing a considered, commercially viable solution.

    Set a deadline

    Is there an external deadline? Or is an immediate decision needed? Understanding the timeframe in which you are to make decisions is half of the battle. For larger or more difficult decisions, having the ability to ‘sleep on it’ can really help, but more time is not always ‘better’! Setting a personal deadline can help to get things done and reduce the risk of dragging things out unnecessarily.

    Efficiency is key and with some commercial decisions, implementing an idea quickly could be the difference in creating a competitive advantage or implementing a process that minimises waste and ultimately saves money.

    Step back

    What are the possible implications of your decision? Take yourself out of the situation, and try to see the decision from all angles and explore the possible implications for the organisation’s stakeholders. This approach will help to prevent decisions made in haste you would later come to regret.

    Weigh up the risk versus reward

    Identify and evaluate the risks associated with the preferred options by drawing up a list (be that physical or mental) of the pros and cons. When making ‘big’ decisions, it is essential to conduct a thorough appraisal, both financial and non-financial, to ensure you have a full understanding of the possible implications and likely outcomes. When in doubt, get the opinions of others in a similar position. Sometimes, all you need is a slightly different perspective to ensure you are making the right choice.

    Have a backup plan

    There is no fool-proof guide here, having a backup plan is a part and parcel of making commercial decisions. The key here is good planning and good planning involves organisation. Put a contingency in place, and be prepared to execute ‘plan B’, should you need to.

    An employee with a good level of commercial awareness is more likely to make sound commercial decisions on behalf of your organisation. The ability to weigh up the pros and cons of each situation, and make a decision based on what is best for the business is essential, but in turn, employees must be able to work collaboratively too to potentially arrive at a more robust decision and in turn share responsibility.

    Commercial awareness among millennials

    One of the key issues raised among graduate recruiters in recent years is the lack of commercial awareness among millennial applicants, but now that almost 35% of the average businesses workforce is made up of millennials, how can you improve this situation?

    Commercial awareness, decision and skills training

    Commercial awareness and making commercial decisions go hand in hand. However, the focus can vary from organisation to organisation.

    This doesn’t always come naturally to your employees, which is where training comes in. Commercial skills training enables employees to be flexible, knowledgeable and proactive when it comes to moving with current market trends.

    The term ‘commercial awareness’ can vary from organisation to organisation and is driven by internal and external factors. As such, commerciality can be quite fluid and can change as the organisation evolves and responds to developments in the marketplace, industry, technological advances, customers etc.

    As such, employees also need a commercial skillset that will allow them to adapt to changes and apply these robust skills to make commercially viable decisions.

    A commercial skillset goes beyond financial skills that it is typically associated with, including a wide range of interpersonal skills too in areas such as customer service, project management and effective communication.

    Do you think your organisation could benefit from commercial awareness, commercial decision making or commercial skills training? Contact us at MDA Training today!

  • How investing in graduate training can benefit your business

    How investing in graduate training can benefit your business

    Graduates are the future lifeblood of a business, so recruiting the best talent and then nurturing this is crucial.

    Graduates are often rough around the edges with little or no commercial skills or commercial acumen. But what they lack in experience they often more than make up for in enthusiasm and will to succeed. The challenge for businesses is to take this raw talent and shape them into employees that add real value to the organisation both commercially and financially.

    Investing in graduate training

    Investing in graduate training will give your graduates the best possible start to their careers in your business, helping them to move from university to the real business world. A graduate training programme will teach them both practical and commercially-focused skills to ensure they gain the right mix of business, technical and personal skills.

    As many businesses face the prospect of losing key staff members as the baby boomers approach retirement, graduates offer a real option for succession planning in business.

    As more experienced employees move on, graduates can bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm to the table, which, when well managed and trained can bring new life to an organisation.

    “Placing graduates in every department of the company allows them to provide feedback and suggestions on which processes are working, what may need changing and how skills can transfer across departments to benefit the wider company.”

    Developing graduate commercial skills to ensure ROI

    Graduate training helps graduates by setting the context of where their role fits into the wider organisation and how they can add value. This commercial context allows them to start contributing to your business from day one, making a real impact as they go.

    “Studies show that many employers fall short of providing their new hires with the support they need to get their careers off to a strong start – resulting in disengaged employees and, even worse, a high staff turnover rate.”

    There is not only the training aspect to consider but also the employee engagement and motivation benefits of putting new graduate recruits through a graduate training programme.

    Graduates that have undertaken training courses are often more ‘bought in’ to the company ethos and values and are dedicated to making a difference within their role.

    Studies have shown that millennials, who make up the current graduate crop, place a high value on the social and personal development rewards of a role, often valuing this more than financial recognition.

    FOR A BESPOKE GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAMME SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO SUIT YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS, CONTACT MDA TRAINING TODAY.

  • Recruiting, engaging and retaining talented millennial employees

    Aged roughly between 18 and 33 today, the millennial generation is already playing a key role in organisations worldwide.

    Set to account for 75% of the workforce by 2025, their influence across global business is growing by the decade. So how can you recruit, engage and retain millennials – the first generation of digital natives, and motivate them to have real value?

    Recruiting millennials

    Firstly, recruiting millennials purely focussed on financial incentivisation is not enough. This is a generation that values work-life balance, flexibility, personal fulfilment and fast-paced career progression. In order to recruit the best talent, it will be vital to demonstrate that these elements are available to them. You’ve done this, so what next?

    Engaging millennials with training

    Train them, train them again, train them some more. While millennials are accustomed to ubiquitous information and ‘finding things out for themselves’ – underestimate their need and desire for good training at your peril. Millennials are a generation brought up on the concept of lifelong learning, both socially and educationally. They want to continuously develop themselves on a personal and career level and companies that fail to offer these development opportunities will fail to engage the generation.

    Training millennials

    Traditional training methods won’t cut it though. Millennials don’t want to be spoon fed or told what to do, they need to feel valued and trained in a way that suits them. They have an insatiable need for feedback and ‘proof’ they are “doing good”. They want to understand first how the training benefits them and how it will have a positive impact on their life. Millennials consider personal and career fulfilment as one and the same so ensure any training can be rationalised by them both personally and career-wise.

    Retaining millennials within your organisation

    Millennials are a transient generation, happy to shift from one organisation to another if their needs are not met. Unlike the generations that have gone before them, millennials have no problem dealing with change and will move on should a better option present itself. An organisation where training and development are geared toward the millennial mindset, in bite-sized chunks and focussed on experience, will see higher retention and engagement levels amongst this generation.

    FOR BESPOKE WORKPLACE TRAINING SOLUTIONS THAT ENGAGE AND RETAIN YOUR MILLENNIAL EMPLOYEES, CONTACT MDA TODAY.

  • Useful tips for graduates and new hires entering the workplace

    The end of University can be a difficult time for any graduate, with the last 15 years spent in education, the move to the world of work can understandably feel like a daunting task, however, it doesn’t need to be!

    We’ve collated, what we believe, are the best top tips for graduates, to help you secure your dream job and enhance your chances of employment.

    All experience is good experience

    Once you have committed to following a career within the banking and finance sector you should begin to examine the roles in which you would like to progress within. It is important to gain experience wherever you can, no role is too small, or beneath you. Take this opportunity to learn as many aspects of the industry as you can to really get a feel for the different types of roles available to find the one that will suit you best.

    It has been reported that 36% of graduate roles have been filled by candidates that have previously worked within that organisation, with figures increasing to 75% in the banking sector. It is evident that work experience is essential, don’t be afraid to take unpaid work experience, this shows your passion for your future career and your willingness to go to great lengths in order to progress.

    Don’t lose sight of your end goal

    The competition for graduate jobs has always been incredibly high, it is important then when leaving university you have a clear and concise plan of action. It is normal within your job hunt for this plan to change course, however, as long as you keep clear, the end goal, you will always strive to accomplish it.

    Feedback is your friend

    Although the competition for graduate jobs is increasingly high, a candidate who has a higher level in their degree or more experience in the role may not ultimately be the reason that you don’t get selected for further interviews, it is therefore important to completely understand why you may not be successful, in this instance feedback is crucial.

    Interview critique will ultimately lead to improvements, understanding where exactly you’re going wrong will ensure you don’t continue to make mistakes in future interviews, again increasing your employability chances.

    Monitor your Social Media behaviour

    As social media grows, so does the need to be extra vigilant in regards to privacy settings. Whether you’re in employment or job hunting, your social media profiles could be detrimental to your success if employers find behaviour they would not deem professional.

    Make the most of professional platforms. During your time at university, you should have been introduced to the professional social media platform LinkedIn, this platform is popular with both companies and recruiters, and when job hunting you should proactively be looking for new opportunities and ensuring your profile is regularly kept up to date for recruiters to easily access your information.

    Networking

    Networking is a great way of getting noticed within an industry. Make the most of any recruitment networking events you can; recruitment networking events have become increasingly popular with recruitment agencies, so make sure you research the best ones for your sector and begin to make contacts. Professional bodies for different sectors are also opting for these types of events, bringing companies and candidates together.

    Do your research

    Once you’ve secured an interview, the research starts. It is important that you put in as much effort as possible for each and every interview, it may be time-consuming and repetitive, however, being underprepared could be the difference between securing a job or losing it.

    You should retain as much information as you can about the company you’re interviewing for; include information on their client, specific projects, any awards they may have received, a detailed description of the services they offer and any relevant news that may affect the company.

    You should then research into the role you’re interviewing for, you need to understand the different roles and responsibilities that would be expected of you, and try, if you can, to have examples of previous working or educational experiences that would be relevant.

    Searching for the right job takes time, but the end result is most definitely worth the wait, be persistent, work hard for the right role for you and use the setbacks to develop your interview skills and you’re sure to find the right position.

    FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE BESPOKE GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAMMES WE PROVIDE, CONTACT MDA TODAY.

  • The benefits of hiring more graduates to your business

    With the majority of UK graduates being forced into employment that does not require their talents, isn’t time to start thinking about why you’re not hiring them?

    Research has reported that 58.8% of UK graduates have ended up in non-graduate roles – a figure exceeded only by Greece and Estonia. There are many benefits of including graduates into your workforce and we’ve listed, what we believe, are the most important:

    Tech-Savvy

    Graduates today have grown up surrounded by technology. This would then suggest, that their ability to adapt to new systems and software would require minimal supervision. They are always interested in the ‘next big thing’ to enter the world of technology, which could prove beneficial to help businesses to grow and progress.

    Enthusiastic

    Once exams are finished, the dissertation is done and dusted and the final year is complete, graduates cannot wait to leave the student lifestyle behind them and enter the working world. This poses an added benefit to businesses as graduates are eager to get stuck in and want to impress.

    Business Skills

    Although new graduates will have little experience of working within a business, their university life will have enabled them to develop invaluable transferable skills such as written and oral communication, presentation, organisation and data analysis. These attributes are vital to carrying out professional business roles within the workplace.

    Flexible

    Graduates entering their first role are eager to impress, and they will go above and beyond the call of duty to do so, which will include, when required, being flexible to the type of task they must complete or the time in which they do so. They won’t have preconceived work habits or practices and will happily and efficiently fit into workplace culture and operating hours.

    Looking to hire graduates but need some help with training? With 25 years’ experience of designing and delivering bespoke graduate induction programmes for a wide range of organisations, at MDA Training we know how to create programmes that will really engage with your graduates and give them flexibility in the way they learn.

    FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAMMES WE PROVIDE, CONTACT MDA TODAY.

  • Why your business should introduce a graduate training programme

    When growing a business, it’s beneficial to analyse all aspects of employee acquisition. To find the right fit for your role, all types and levels should be considered.

    With graduate schemes at their highest level in 2016 with a 20.5% increase in the last 3 years, it is clear that although the graduate market is vulnerable to fluctuations, their popularity in businesses is growing.

    Typically, graduate schemes offer a structured period of training and development. The duration of graduate training is decided by the employer, however, on average they will last between 12-36 months. Each scheme will follow a structured programme with a combination of “on-the-job” training and formal training interventions. In some cases, graduate schemes will allow graduates to experience all aspects of the organisation from which the graduate can progress and make a career choice based on their placements in various functions. Other graduate schemes will focus heavily on a specific area/degree subject, in these instances, it is not uncommon for graduates to continue their studies by completing a professional qualification alongside their role.

    We have outlined 5 reasons why we believe you should consider implementing a graduate development programme for your business;

    Cost-effective

    As graduates will enter the business at an entry level role they are expected to earn substantially lower salaries than that of an experienced hire. However, graduates hold greater potential with a positive outlook and a willingness to learn and develop.

    Fresh ideas

    Having just left the lecture theatre, not only are graduates bursting with new up-to-date knowledge in their specific subject fields, but they are also perceptive to the latest trends and competent with the latest technology and will, therefore, bring fresh ideas to your business.

    Proven return on investment

    Research has shown that annually, graduates contribute approximately £1 billion of added value to the UK economy. So, you have to ask yourself can you really afford not to add them to your business?

    Fill future roles

    The way in which graduate schemes are structured enables graduates to grow, learn and develop within a professional environment. The skills they acquire go far beyond the ability to effectively complete a job role, they will adopt a sense of empowerment that will give them the drive and commitment to strive towards managerial levels. By allowing graduates to have the potential to be promoted internally will in-turn see them work to the best of their ability to fulfil their full potential.

    Skills

    Although graduates will have little to no experience within a professional role. Their time at university is spent building upon a skill set that is critical to a professional working environment. These key skills include; administration skills, communication and problem-solving skills, time management – and the list goes on.

    As modern students are technologically savvy, they will have spent a large part of their degree learning and developing their analytical and critical thinking capabilities which in an ever-increasing technologically dependent world are invaluable skills.

    FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE BESPOKE GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAMMES WE PROVIDE, CONTACT MDA TODAY.