Investment in Training Provides Solid ROI for Wedding Businesses & Venues

Photo: Mary Jane | Four Seasons Santa Barbara

 "The only thing worse than training employees and losing them is to not train them and keep them."   -Zig Ziglar

Everyone knows it's good to train employees, but why do we have a tendency to keep putting it off?  Often leaders and managers are so focused on getting through the short term, it's hard to focus on the long term.  But the reality is, investing in the long term is what is going to sustain your business.  Triply so for the wedding industry, where the industry is constantly changing and competition keeps us on our toes and staying fresh is imperative to survival. 

As we gradually exit peak wedding season this Fall, we make room for our next peak season: that of engagements.  With the holidays, engagement season is traditionally at its peak November through February.  Wedding businesses can use this time to sharpen their skills, perhaps increase inquiries and sales with newly-trained-on techniques and skills and best yet:  use this "down" time to invest in preparing for a prosperous 2015.

Here are top reasons to invest in training for your team:

• Your outside image is more largely based on how your employees are feeling on the inside of your business than you may think.  That is, for every one unhappy employee, it is expected that they will will tell ten outside people not associated with your business.  Unhappy employees can spoil your entire business and brand more quickly than anything else.

• It is an opportunity to make training fun and the information actually "stick" with your employees for the long haul.  But to do this, you must invest in doing it right.  Many (larger) corporations will simply have a bunch of boxes to check and outsource a company who does not know anything about their company, industry, employees, trends, what the issues are currently for the employees and how to customize a plan for them that is fun with take-away value. At Engaging Inspiration, we take time to personally interview and customize a plan and follow through personally to provide fun, inspirational, engaging and educational training.

• Training establishes a regular and consistent culture (see our next BLOG post on company "culture").  If everyone buys into that culture, the business progresses more quickly.

• It attracts other talented people to come work for you.  Once others hear that you are a business that invests in its employees and in their personal and professional growth, you will attract talent to come work for you.

• Employees in whom you invest tend to stay with your company longer.  Some leaders may say "what if we pay for this training and they leave us?" Really, the better question is, "what if we don't train them and they stay?"  And it goes without saying that lower employee turn-over contributes positively to the bottom line of profits.

• It simply makes them better at what they do.  That sounds so completely obvious, but sometimes the most  obvious is often overlooked. When they are better at what they do, your business improves.  Simple.

From what kind of training can wedding businesses benefit?  From upping customer service standards, business etiquette and ethics, how to write marketing plans that target specific niche markets, professional wedding coordinating training, how to find upsell opportunities from trends, how to learn about niche markets like the LGBT wedding, luxury bridal, second wedding and vow renewal events to new prospecting techniques, the latest trends in social media and so much more.  For some inspiration on topics that we have done with previous clients as well as speaking engagements, visit our topics page.

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Engaging Inspiration provides sparkling training, marketing and social media solutions to the wedding business and hospitality special event venue.  Designed to inspire and engage.