Employers need to think of training and development more strategically

IRISH companies are assessing the aptitudes and retraining existing staff to help them bridge skills gaps and boost business performance, a useful and efficient tool in addition to recruitment.

Ryan Shanks, managing director of Accenture’s talent and organisation practice in Ireland, cites one Irish-based technology client who used a novel approach to boost the performance of sales staff. What started out as a training exercise led rapidly to enhanced sales and profits.

Ryan Shanks said: “This company did a competency assessment test to see what their top sales people knew, the things they had in common that made them perform better than others. Essentially, the study looked at what they did with their time that made them so successful.