When you’re growing an NDIS business, training may not always be seen as a top priority, but perhaps it should be. Training, for you and your staff, can be one of the most important ways to ensure you’re providing the best service to your participants. There are also many other significant reasons why you should consider investing in training.
It's an audit requirement
NDIS providers are required to ensure that their staff remain current and undertake the requisite development opportunities. As a NDIS provider, it's your responsibility to have a system in place to identify, plan, facilitate, record and evaluate your training. This ensures that you remain compliant and that workers can meet the needs of every participant.
Lack of training costs money
You should consider training to be an investment in your business. If you don’t have effective training or don’t do any training at all, you take the risk that your staff won’t perform their best in their role. In the worst case scenario, a lack of training may mean that crucial or costly mistakes are made.
Offering training to your staff also gives them the opportunity to diversify their skills. Having staff who acquire a range of skills will help to broaden the options of your business and what you're able to offer participants.
So while effective training ensures that you can provide a great service for your participants, it also means a more profitable business for you in the long run.
Adapting to change
One thing we’ve all learnt recently is how rapidly and unexpectedly the world around us can change. For this reason alone, it’s essential that you keep your skills and knowledge up to date. By staying on top of your game, you’ll be able to pivot and weave as any changes arise.
The better you understand your business and the skills that make it work successfully, the more able you will be to adapt to change as it occurs. This will also allow you to identify any gaps in knowledge, abilities or even the marketplace as changes occur.
Retaining great and loyal staff
There are numerous studies that show by having ongoing training in your business your staff are more likely to want stay in their roles. Employees not only feel appreciated when they’re provided with learning opportunities, but they recognise the effort you put in to their professional development. This helps to cultivate loyalty between you.
Staff turnover can be very expensive for a business. Keeping staff who are engaged and good at their jobs is essential to maintaining a healthy bottom line. Having long-term staff also helps to reassure participants that they're dealing with providers who are reliable and doing their best.
Optimise staff check-ins
Many employers are unsure of what sort of training they should be providing their staff. One of the simplest and most effective ways you can find out the answer can be by asking them. Employers should regularly be catching up with their staff and part of these meetings could include asking what training they think they need to do their job better. You may be surprised to find out their answers! It can be a good way to identify gaps you may have in your business, and an unexpected bonus may be to improve and make your service more profitable.
At PROVIDERplus, we recognise the importance of ongoing professional development, this is why we have teamed up with the best training partners. Our training partners offer our members discounted courses in areas that will most benefit NDIS providers. this ensures that members have access to hundreds of accredited and unaccredited training programs.
This is just one way that PROVIDERplus supports and assists our members. Click here to find out more about becoming a PROVIDERplus member.
