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IN FOCUS: TRAINING
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Training boosts productivity and helps lower costs. That's a fact. Driver training will improve your fuel consumption —that alone could fund improvements. Good training also lowers absenteeism, staff turnover, accidents and sickness, for all kinds of reasons. To see the results, check out Skills For Logistics' (SfL) SkillsPay campaign (www.skilisforlogistics.org/en/ indexiskillspay) with some big-name participants.
There are various reasons firms give to avoid taking the time and money to train staff. Even if they can cover the cost of the course, they need to find relief for those workers attending. If you have fewer than 50 staff, Train to Gain offers help towards the cost of worker absence for courses — you just need to fill out a form after the course.
Often firms complain courses aren't relevant to their business. However, if you contact Business Link (www.businesslink.gov.uk) and Train to Gain (www. traintogain.gov.uk) for publicly funded courses, and accredited trainers in logistics, or your regional SfL broker, for vocational courses, you will find the situation much improved. Remember, you are a customer, and can demand information about what the courses cover and what skills attendees should come away with. Rather than cutting training, pursue the best value. Do a train-the-trainer course, so you can disseminate information in-house. Put someone in charge of issuing reminders and updates, and making sure new skills and techniques are being used. Advertise your ongoing training commitment it will impress customers.
And calculate the value training brings it will more than outstrip its cost but you need to measure it.
Safeguard the skit's of your staff
Challenge your perception of your workforce. Do the following stats ring any bells?
• 47% of the logistics industry fall below NVO Level 2. This is a base-level qualification.
• 330,000 logistics employees lack basic reading skills, and 450,000 lack basic number skills. That's equal to one in five being functionally innumerate and 15% being functionally illiterate.
• If one in seven can't read, are you sure everyone in your warehouse can read instructions? Health and safety notices? Labels? Have you checked?
• Logistics has a reputation for efficiency and precision. Operators must keep investing in their people in order to retain that reputation.