Commercial skills encompass the ability to understand what attributes contribute to the success of an organisation or business.
Commercial awareness allows your workforce to understand the ‘why’ behind the tasks they undertake and allow them to work towards the overarching business goals.
In order to successfully develop future leaders and motivate the younger workforce, employers should look to implement commercial awareness training into the early stages of their employment.
With the younger generations such as Gen Z and millennials, more motivated than any generation prior to them, commercial acumen training will likely be integrated into their workplace development.
Motivation
In order to ensure your younger workers remain highly motivated, sharing commercial awareness knowledge with them can allow them to gain a deeper insight into the business objectives. Allowing them to engage with senior members of staff, ask questions and improve their overall knowledge of the market can result in an improved understanding of the meaning behind the work that they do.
Retention
Commercial awareness training can also allow talent managers to identify those who could be integrated into their succession plans, to be developed into future managers.
Working closely with the younger employees to ensure they are on board with the progression planning created can support in driving enthusiasm when it comes to their career trajectory.
This can further inspire them to support the business in reaching objectives and can reduce the risk of them leaving your business to work for a competitor.
High employee turnover can cost a business greatly and result in both poor morale and reduced numbers of people wanting to apply to work for your business.
Low staff turnover can inspire greater productivity and ensure that your workforce has the capability to move up through the ranks, utilising years of experience to support business growth and become managers of the future.
Responsibility
Millennials and Gen Z employees are known for wanting more responsibility within their roles. This allows them to express their entrepreneurial flair and offers them some direction in their daily tasks and overall career development.
These generations thrive off a challenge and will often grab the opportunity to face a challenge and demonstrate their skills to their managers.
Ensuring that these employees are offered the opportunity to input into commercial planning and market research will support the overall development of their knowledge whilst also instilling drive in them to display their skills.