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.