Обучение персонала: ключ к успеху в конкурентном бизнесе самохранилищ

Progress Through Professional Development: How Team Training Enriches Your Self-Storage Operation The key to a thriving self-storage facility is often the team of people who run it, which means training is essential. Companies with inadequate programs tend to experience higher employee turnover and a lower-rated customer experience. This article delves into the need for training, the options available, and how to build a culture that prioritizes professional development as a means to attract and retain top talent. Self-storage is a highly competitive business, and earning the opportunity to win customers is tougher than ever before. It isn’t unusual for there to be up to a dozen storage providers of various sizes within a micro-market. As operators, we need a competitive edge. Visible location? Sure. Modern technology? Of course! Sometimes, though, that isn’t enough. Often, the ability to attract prospects and rent units comes down to well-trained staff. Whether they’re on location or working at a remote station, your company’s human element often wins the day. If you want your self-storage business to be a market leader, consistent and ongoing training is pivotal. A strong program gives employees confidence and ensures consistent service excellence across your portfolio. Let’s look at how to build one and the benefits it can yield for your operation. The Goal What you’re looking to build is a foundation on which self-storage team members can be onboarded and get up to speed quickly. This includes a strong routine for daily operations. New hires should have access to consistent support and best practices for handling the challenges they’re likely to face in the course of their work, plus ongoing education designed to enrich and deepen their knowledge. All staff should feel engaged and challenged. They should also feel that training is a collaborative experience. After all, being part of something bigger is important for today’s career-seekers, particularly those of younger generations. Knowing that your self-storage organization supports them and is proactive in their growth is vital to recruitment and retention, especially in today’s labor market. Evaluating Your Needs To begin building your self-storage training program, ask yourself these questions: Where is your organization today? Are you hiring new teammates to staff up stores? Working to lease up new properties with a focus on marketing and occupancy tactics? Driving revenue with mature sites where advanced pricing and inventory understanding is most vital? The answers will give you a start in finding the right resources. For example, you may find that today you need simple training in company culture and strategic planning to get your busy season off and running as a unified team. Tomorrow it could be principals and routine techniques that can get employees on the same page in daily operations. Eventually, those needs may shift. Understanding that is key in delivering what your self-storage team needs and when. Your training program should be focused on the requirements you identify, whether it’s basics like learning facility-management software and building good service habits or more advanced skills such as “train the trainer” strategies that instill future best practices. Knowing what you need is as important as who or what delivers it. In-House vs. Outsourced Training Your focus should be on developing a training organization, one that values education and employee development as much as occupancy and revenue. To do this, you have two options: - Develop a program in-house with current or acquired personnel - Look to hire or leverage outside sources or technologies to develop a lasting program To decide which route is best for your business, look candidly at your current assets. Perhaps you already have the personnel, experience and infrastructure required. Are there people on your team who can provide ongoing education and support? Do those people have the tools and resources to do so? Don’t make the mistake of assuming that your top facility or district managers can function as coaches, as it can be costly. The ability to do a thing and teach a thing are not the same. If you don’t have the right resources in place, the answer might be to look outside your company. Leverage your industry network and explore the many state, regional and national organizations that offer courses as well as digital and physical training materials. You can also attend industry conferences and other events to find experts with the experience to provide the training your team needs. Though there’s a cost to outsourcing, a professional trainer brings expertise in designing and delivering customized programs that address the unique needs of the self-storage industry in general and your operation in particular. They can see where your team is today and how to get them to the next level, providing hands-on guidance, creating learning materials and implementing best practices to enhance employee skills and confidence. Additionally, these consultants are current on industry trends and regulations, ensuring your staff remains knowledgeable and adaptable in a competitive market. Of course, this level of support can be costly. For a more flexible, economical option, consider technology-based programming. For example, consider investing in a learning-management system that allows you to build course work and libraries of materials your employees can access on their own schedule. The industry is also full of online seminars, podcasts and videos, some of which are completely free. It’ll take some effort to sort through the many options and determine which ones fit your current situation, but there’s plenty of engaging material available. The Investment With Endless Returns Employee development should viewed as valuable asset to your self-storage company, and this belief needs to start at the top of the food chain. In great organizations, the leader sets the tone and strategic intent for the team. That might be the owner, president, principal or vice president of operations. This is where the training-organization model begins. Staff training should be an ongoing effort in which your company takes great pride. It won’t only attract better talent, it’ll make motivation and retention part of your culture. Be proactive. Don’t assume everyone you hire will “figure it out.” They won’t, and your self-storage operation will suffer because of it. This is a competitive business. If your employees improve, facility performance typically follows. If you make one investment to better your self-storage organization this year, make it in training and education. It’ll pay you back over and over again. Frank Certo is senior vice president of operations for The Storage Mall Management Group, which operates self-storage and provides third-party management services. Frank has more than 20 years of experience in recruitment, coaching and developing high-performance personnel. He’s held roles in sales, management, operations and staff training for the last 15 years, many of which were in the self-storage industry. To reach him, email [email protected].