“People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It doesn’t make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps.”
Mary Kay Ash
There’s a stage in the growth of every startup- you are picking up pace and hiring a few recruits and expanding your team. This is where you’ll go on thinking about whether or not to implement Learning & Development in your firm. You know it’s costly, time-consuming, and you think that your startup is still too young for it.
Well guess what?
Wrong.
You are, like many others like you, wrong.
It may have not been a big deal from when you started off your venture with your partner at your garage till now, or when you hired the first few teammates. But as soon as you begin to expand your team and grow, L&D become relevant and it stays there with you, ready to give you an edge.
Let us explain why L&D is such a big deal.
It defines the value of your employees
There is one thing that your competitors cannot copy and it’s at the core of Learning and Development: People.
Your startup has is a pool of thoughts and concepts you and your employees bring. And that’s unique to you. No other firm has it. And that kicks the question of whether you need an L&D or not, out of the room. Learning and training helps in developing morale and motivation. And being valued is crucial for employee satisfaction. People may or may not leave your company, but do you want loyal, yet low-morale, staff staying only to give you some of their potential? If they stay, you definitely want them to be motivated, competent and engaged.
Innovation and leadership go hand in hand. Learning helps to develop sound working practices aligned with organisational goals. Learning fosters understanding and appreciation of perspectives, by challenging rigid opinions and behaviours.
Products come and go as if the world is to end the next day.
Learning at a rate faster than change is critical.
The pace at which the market is picking up new trends over last few years is astonishing and will probably only accelerate in the near future. Anything that catches the consumer’s attention, which is now officially shorter than a goldfish, means it’s bound to make a mark in the market. Companies such as Apple and Google are flourishing. This is no accident. The credit goes to the learning culture they nurture.
People, service, and attitude are all important to organisational success. These factors differentiate organisations in an age when products are increasingly similar. Also, learning can increase productive capacity.
Learning and change are inextricably linked. A learning culture helps to:
- Identify extraordinary solutions to the problems you are trying to solve
- out-innovate and outmanoeuvre competitors.
- focus on service and quality.
Face it. Your startup needs to build a learning culture right from this moment or you will end up at the bottom of the food chain. Everything you think you own ends up being owned by your thousand competitors. And if they dare to take a step forth, that’s it for you. So start building one.
