we want employees to feel proud of their role and contribution? How can we expect such qualities and behaviour if we consider and treat our personnel as "skills performers"? However, we could achieve the desired results if we address the personal development needs of the employees involved. When we plan for both "training" and "development", we achieve a proper balance between the needs of the company and those of the trainees. The synergy created takes us to new levels, to a continuing trend of company growth. Our consideration of the people involved results in work motivation, goal sharing, and a sense of partnership. Not only do the employee-trainees perform at the desired levels, but they offer to the company and its customers their hidden individual gifts and talents, and this reflects itself in the quality of service. Customers feel and recognize efficient performance, motivation and teamwork. They become loyal customers. We can learn from the case of a small restaurant operator who had become desperate at the negligent attitude of his servers, resulting in customer complaints. He decided to seek professional expertise to help him replace his employees with "motivated, trained" people fresh out of a waiter's training school. Following some probing questions it came to light that, besides hourly pay, he did not offer much to attract and retain loyal and dedicated employees. Through professional consultation, he came to realize that even if he paid higher wages to new "trained" employees, the problem would persist because employees want more than wages from their work place. They want: Organization and professional management Information regarding the business and its customers Recognition for their role in the company's success Acknowledgement of their individual capacities and contributions Positive discipline / fairness A say in the way the business is run. The restaurant operator realized that until then he had treated his empl...
