Importance of People Development

Importance of People Development

06th February 2023

Our people are our business. Their dedication, efforts and ideas have enabled us to grow over the years and successfully stem the transition from a small, family run business into the larger, commercial entity we are today. This is an ongoing process and as we continue to expand, so too does the resource we can commit and invest in our people.

In this blog Tanya Traill, HR and Training Manager and Charlie Dewhirst. Learning and Development Co-ordinator, highlight the importance of people development and the practices we are putting into place to ensure our teams are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need for a successful career.

“Learning and development (L&D) is hugely important” begins Tanya. “Not only for the individuals within our workforce and their success, but for our business and the wider industry.  For these reasons we want to ensure that L&D is completely embedded within our culture, so that our people can grow in their careers, harnessing the skills and confidence they need to carry out their roles effectively and supporting our business to flourish.”

Charlie continues “Our business is on a journey and as it grows, we want to ensure our people grow too. We want our colleagues to feel proud of their roles, to understand the importance of what they do and the products they help to produce. Through the work they do they are helping to save lives and make buildings safer for occupants – what could be more important than that? Each and every member of our team has a real skill to offer and our goal is to help them to realise their potential, viewing their work as more than just a job but as a rewarding career.”

Beyond providing training and skills sessions, the success of any L&D strategy is very much dependent on communication as Tanya explains, “L&D shouldn’t be seen as a tick box exercise by staff or management. It is so much more than that. Executed properly it will bring real benefits to business commercially but to do this, commitment and effective communication are key.

“The entire organisation needs to dedicate real time to L&D and to take ownership for the role they play. We need to understand the areas our teams need more support in and to identify any real knowledge and skills gaps that could be impacting on performance.”

16 hours a year of training per person, regular reviews, structured plans and competency tests are just some of the practices Tanya and Charlie have introduced to support ARC’s L&D strategy.

“Alongside the creation of my role” begins Charlie “the business has also invested in new technology which supports our L&D practices. It is helping us to identify areas which need more attention, aiding us to create a structured pathway for teams to follow and importantly, it is also making the process easily trackable so that we can ensure training is carried out.

“Our goal is to ensure that our people feel supported, confident and motivated in their roles. By giving colleagues the opportunity to develop their skills, work towards fulfilling their ambitions, in an environment that supports personal growth, we can build a business that is both resilient and agile to the ever-changing environment.”