‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast,’ as somebody once observed. What they meant by this is the power that a company’s culture holds over what people do. Whatever the strategy might say, decisions and choices are more often the result of culture – or ‘the way things are done around here.’
For strategy you could substitute targeted training courses. Companies select training packages to teach people what best practice should look like. The courses selected should be aligned to a strategic development programme that aims to build or maintain outstanding service delivery.
But what if culture and priorities are not consistent with what people are taught?
Company training and company culture should be like perfectly aligned rail tracks. The destination is best practice delivered day-in, day-out. Any kinks in the track or deviation between the cultural and training directions of travel could directly impact day to day operations.
Targeted Training
A sense of direction is critical if you want to achieve value from your investment in training. CQC inspection results, new regulations, emerging best practice, and your own training needs analysis will all direct specific training plans.
The value of this investment will be undermined if the company culture isn’t aligning and supporting the care team in their training practices. When the culture, beliefs and values reinforce what people are taught, best practice becomes fully embedded and radiates throughout the organisation.
The vital question to ask is whether your team consistently implements the best practice they have been taught. If not, you need to honestly examine whether this is because they didn’t fully understand the training, or whether your culture (or what they believe to be your culture) is pulling them off course.
You can read more about the impact of training on care organisations in the document ‘The Positive Impact Staff Training Can Have on Care Organisations’ downloadable from our Resource Library. Align your training with a positive company culture and you are on the road to success.
