Skill shortages represent one of the biggest threats to the growth plans of small businesses. And in trying to address that problem, they face additional challenges in providing their staff with the skills training they need without impacting on productivity and business costs.
With the advent of cloud technology, a growing number have turned to online training programmes, which enable staff to train remotely, flexibly and at a time that fits in with their work.
Digital marketing agency DPOM employs six members of staff, all of who take part in online training in order to qualify for Google Partner status.
Director Brett Dixon says: "Training online is incredibly beneficial for the business. It removes a myriad of associated headaches such as costs, travel arrangements and absence from the office. Ultimately, it means we can train more people, more often and most importantly on our terms, without it having a detrimental effect on our business."
At the end of their training, DPOM's employees sit exams remotely, too. The exam software "locks down" the employee's computer, sets the timer, and at the end, their marks are instantly displayed and their qualification certificate can be downloaded immediately.
"The business can function efficiently, having avoided large periods of absences and accumulating expenses," says Dixon. "Our employees benefit from greater knowledge and additional qualifications they achieve when they pass the exams. As a result, our employees perform better for our clients, continue to develop the business and improve our position within the sector. Who wouldn't want that?"
The two key requirements for a small firm looking to train staff via online programmes are a reliable internet connection and a functioning computer. As most small businesses already have both, the only additional costs are for the actual training modules.
Online courses are designed to be flexible, so staff can log in and complete their training session at a time that suits their job and the company. Some SMEs go so far as to engage their customers with their online training strategy.
At Bournemouth-based accountancy firm Smart Accountancy Systems, where all the members of staff are qualified in Xero online accounting and bookkeeping systems, clients are encouraged to train in Xero, too.
Managing director Jon Jenkins says: "Each member of staff goes through the Xero certification process, which is all online and self paced so you do the modules as and when you choose. We also train our clients to use Xero software to streamline their bookkeeping, pointing them in the direction of the free webinars on the Xero website."
The transition from employee to business owner is in itself a steep learning curve that requires the rapid acquisition of new skills, and here cloud-based training can offer a solution, as Sallie Bale, director at Communica PR discovered.
She says: "When you are an employee with a larger agency, you pick up your core skills; media relations, social media, and content marketing, etc., but starting your own business is a whole other ball game. When I did it, I suddenly I found I needed an entirely new range of skills and knowledge."
While there were several classroom-based courses that she could have joined, as a small business owner Bale was unable to commit to a certain number of hours, and certain time each week.
The solution for her was to study for these skills online. These tend to be much cheaper than classroom-based courses, where venues and travel incur higher costs, and are available in bite-sized chunks that will easily fit into the working day.
The flexibility afforded by the internet has enabled her to take many courses.
She says: "If you have 30 minutes on your lunch break, or a free evening, you can do a quick module, or listen to the next podcast. There are so many video and podcast-based training courses that you download right away. If you need to learn how to use Google Analytics, you don't have to wait for the course to begin. You can just get on with it."
In the early stages of starting her own company, a key lesson that Bale learned was the importance of being agile and skilled in many areas of business.
She says: "Even if I am going to subcontract a particular piece of work, I still need to be able to understand the issues and draft a brief. For example, I am currently teaching myself to code websites. I don't plan on creating too many websites myself, but it would be a helpful string to my bow if I could contract out a website re-design. It's partly about being able to speak their language."
The return on investment in skills training is the value that clients place in a business's in-depth knowledge and expertise on a particular subject.
Bale says: "With technology changing the way we work at every turn, being on top of the latest developments should be a priority for everyone. For example, do you know how Google's Panda 4.0 algorithm impacts your SEO? Or what Twitter's latest 'paid for' opportunities mean for your client? These issues impact my client's business, and therefore also my own."
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This content has been paid for and produced to a brief agreed with O2 Business, whose brand it displays
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