Author: David King

Any professional services firm delving into training and development of its staff should first learn how to identify and assess training needs properly.   It is counter-productive to offer training to staff who do not need it, or to simply offer the wrong kind of training. A ‘Training Needs Analysis’ helps to put your often limited training resources to the best possible use. This article outlines a six steps process for professional services firms to map out their training needs.

When PowerPoint was originally conceived, it was as a presentation tool.  It was a way to help people visualise their thoughts and, when discussed and presented, to offer the audience to two mediums of information – visual and auditory. Training is more than just the presentation of knowledge though. When a presenter and audience are using Powerpoint, only one side is actually involved and engaged – the presenter. The audience are passive participants in a presentation, often sitting with their arms crossed merely observing the work being done by the presenter. This low level of interaction falls well below the bar required for training to be successful. You shouldn’t use PowerPoint for training.

Training is an investment! Or is training an expense? This classic question continues to challenge all modern organisations as they seek ways to grow and innovate

Your staff are increasingly ready to share and capture knowledge from each other if given the opportunity. It’s up to your firm to take advantage of this desire with your own knowledge sharing platform. The knowledge sharing opportunity is there. Do you take advantage of it, or resist it?

Knowledge is the key asset of any professional services firm. So a knowledge sharing platform should be among the key tools. Yet often it is not! Knowledge sharing software can drive business growth in any professional services firm. Let’s examine business growth in an accounting firm in this article.