Educational Planning For Companies

Education emerged with the first human being, and developed with the evolvement of humanity and has gained a systematic structure. Today, its value is increasing every day and it has become a large area where at least a few ideas are held on top of the whole society. At the same time, it has become an active structure that is constantly changing and evolving with commissions, ministries, non-governmental organizations and communities established throughout the world.

While the training was private at the beginning, it has become a service offered to groups over time. Now it has been a service offered to all humanity with examples like Khan Academy. Particularly in our world, which has turned into a global village, all the individuals within a community receive the information they need through a systematic education with the support of the state. However, many societies throughout history only systematically trained the upper group and its managers, while people of lower level were learning by living in the community.

Social structures, emerging needs and emerging technologies have been instrumental in this change. In the past, while people had to spend days or weeks in libraries for information, today we can access a lot of information we’d like to even with our mobile phones.

Under these circumstances, companies should invest strictly in training, as all managers and employees agree. So, who, why and how should companies train or help their employees get training? Let's try to answer these questions in order.

Who should companies help? Of course, the first answer that comes to mind to this question will be to provide training to managers and employees on the necessary issues. Yes, education is a must and the most important part for the development and change of companies. For this reason, many company owners or human resources departments conduct training needs analysis and plan trainings in line with the needs of their employees.

Considering that more than 70% of companies worldwide are family companies, the result is that companies should invest in their future as much as they do today. For this reason, companies should invest in the crowns that will take over the management in the future and prepare them for the future. Planning for this should be supported by coaching, one-to-one training and consultancy services that the young will receive from the time they start school.

There are also educational supports to be given within the scope of social responsibility, where companies that want to contribute to society and care about the development of society in addition to their own development should support projects such as free trainings and scholarships to needy people and/or children. Today, many foundations, associations and conglomerates carry out such activities.

In other words, in brief the answer to the first question is that companies can help their employees, their crowns and those in need of training.

The second question is why should companies give training? The answer to this question lies within the answer of the first question. Let’s take the subject in a more detailed way. Companies have to improve themselves and be open to innovations. In order to respond to the needs of a changing society, it must change with society and introduce new virtues. Otherwise the more they are closed to development, the more likely they will fail, and after a while they will either accept change or become unable to work. In order for this change to happen, working people need to change and improve. In order to do this, all personnel, especially managers, need to develop themselves by participating trainings in line with their work. This should not be neglected in an environment where competitors are getting stronger every day. At this point, local and global competitors should be analyzed in line with your company's position and objectives and these should be taken into consideration in planning training.

As mentioned above, more than 70% of the companies are family companies. The planned upbringing of individuals in the position of crown is now a must so that family companies can continue and be passed onto the next generation. Otherwise, companies cannot continue their development and after a while their success begins to turn into failures. To give an example, Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi  is one of the oldest family companies in our country. While Mehmet Efendi, the founder of the company, was selling to Istanbul the second generation strengthened the infrastructure and opened to the Turkish market. While the third generation strengthened infrastructure and domestic market, they also managed to make breakthroughs abroad. Today, one of the most valuable assets of our country, Kuru Kahveci Mehmet Efendi sells to more than 50 countries in the world with his own brand. Although there are many other coffee companies in our country, it is not a coincidence that the success of Kuru Kahveci Mehmet Efendi  is related to the upbringing of the younger generations as crowns.

Of course, educational assistance to the needy is not a necessity. However, it should not be forgotten that all the support we will provide to the society in which we live will affect our development, though indirectly. The work done in a society with a high level of prosperity and its return and the jobs created in a society with a low level of prosperity will not necessarily be the same. In addition, from an institutional point of view, many companies use social responsibility projects as a PR (advertising) work.

The last question is how should education be given to these people? Education has come a point that you can reach at any time with the technological facilities developing today. The trainings to be given to the employees include face-to-face training, seminars, congresses, practice training, on-the-job training, coaching and consulting. In addition, academies to be established within the company can take an active role in process control, investigation and reporting. Within the scope of social responsibility, free education and seminars, scholarships and other financial aids (e.g. school construction) together with free online courses are the most preferred methods. Companies that do not want to build a system from scratch for online courses and trainings can collaborate with different companies such as Khan Academy. Face-to-face and one-to-one trainings, hands-on trainings, coaching and consulting work are more effective in the trainings to be given to the crown. Especially when it is considered that these trainings will be given from a young age, such trainings as education coaching, career coaching or counseling and life coaching come to the fore.

Education is the key point of change and development today. Remember, the most lasting light you can light for your future today is your investment in education. Sooner or later, we will see the benefits of the steps we take for education, whether for our family, for our employees or for the community, and we will move forward with more confident steps into the future.

Human Resources Specialist

Recep Turan