We all know that no expenditure, whether it be in the form of time or money, should be made in business without first considering the return on the investment. Yet today more money is wasted on training than in almost any other activity in business!
Do not, for one second, misinterpret this statement … training of both yourself, and your staff is absolutely vital BUT it must be the RIGHT training.
It is sad indeed to reflect on the amount of money wasted on training (that seminar you/your staff attended that yielded nothing or that course that turned out to be the same old theory dressed up as the latest ‘instant fix’ to all your business and/or staff problems). Why do we get suckered into these money-wasting activities? The promise of gain and exceptionally good marketing by the presenters … that is why! For goodness sake, do not get sucked into this bottomless pit of expenditure.
We are brainwashed into thinking that every course must carry some formal certification and that we must qualify our business to receive this grant or that allowance. Is the certification or the grant/allowance sufficient return on investment? Certainly, these aspects are considerations, but the primary consideration is the benefit you will receive in terms of the amount of money flowing into your bank account over the long term because of getting more customers and/or improving efficiencies!
Before you jump on the training bandwagon and start surfing the net to find out who you must sign up for the latest training fad, take a breath and consider the following:
Define precisely what training is required: Start off by analysing the skills sets required in those key positions in your business and compare these requirements with the skills demonstrated by the people filling those positions. This exercise will immediately highlight your training requirements in those key positions. The very least this exercise will yield is that you will not spend time, effort, and money on the wrong training.
Guard against fashion. It is not your responsibility to educate the workforce in the country. This responsibility rests with parents, so do not get a guilty conscience just because every business in existence seems to be spending money on training and you are not. The important issue is that you ensure that you have the necessary skills in your business to ensure it both succeeds and prospers. To do this, and ensure that your people are competent, you do need to train, and motivate, your staff on an ongoing basis.
Decide who is best qualified to give the training. Too often we think we must spend money on outsiders to give training. This is not necessarily the case. Here are some alternatives:
- Your own staff are often best suited to train their colleagues. As we all know, the best way to learn is to teach others, so why not draw up a training course and farm the various modules out to different staff members to research and present. Not only is this a lot of fun, but also builds team spirit and the knowledge gained is likely to stay around much longer. Face it, the Internet alone is a wonderful knowledge repository.
- Often, suppliers are only too happy to give training related to their products or services. The mere fact that you are a customer, or potential customer, qualifies you to benefit from such training. The best part is that it does not cost you anything!
- Bring the trainer(s) to your premises. This is very often a cheaper option than sending your people to centralised venues – provided you have the numbers required by the trainer.
- Free, or low-cost training does still exist for specific areas. Why not contact such organisations as the emergency services (Police, Fire Department, Ambulance Service), Neighbourhood Watch, Red Cross, Local Government Authority, Chamber of Commerce, various professional associations and so on. You will be surprised at what is out there and available to you.
- Internet Training is a very real option today. Many training organisations now provide permanent on-line training programmes that allow for distance learning. The list of courses is endless and cover short courses in such things as sales strategies, marketing, accounting, finance, human resource management, conflict resolution, manufacturing, inventory control … the list goes on and on.
- Mine your in-house talent before you engage an outside expert.
Select the course carefully. Go into the course content in detail to ensure that 80% of it does not cover non-relevant theory but focuses on matters which can be practically implemented in your business. The bottom line is that you want specialists, not generalists! Ensure too that course material is provided to enable post-course reference.
Monitor the results. When people go on training ensure that you get maximum benefit for what you have paid. Here are some tips:
- Have trainees give you an action plan on how they are going to put the knowledge they have acquired into effect in your business. Then monitor this.
- Have trainees make formal presentations to their colleagues on what they have learned. Keep this going on a repetitive basis.
- Establish a pyramid type buddy system where each trained person is responsible for passing on skills and knowledge to two colleagues on a continuous mentorship basis.
Do not let the money walk out the door. Some training is awfully expensive, and the last thing you want is to find yourself in the position where you have paid for the training, only to have the person resign and take the knowledge to another company … possibly a competitor. Tie the cost of the training into an extended service period where, should the person wish to leave your employ before the specified period is up, the training money will be repaid to you. Training loans amortised over a specified period work just as well.
Protect your culture. In a previous blog post we discussed the importance of your corporate culture and how that is vital to the success of your business. Ensure, in selecting your training courses, and trainer, that your value system (provided it is positive) will be reinforced in any training given to your staff.
If ever you hear yourself saying “if you want a job done properly you have to do it yourself” or start believing that nobody can sell your product better than you can, beware. This is merely an admission that you have not nurtured the talent you saw fit to hire in the first place and, in effect, that you do not know what you are doing! You can not do everything yourself and you have an obligation to your company, and family, to ensure that you develop that line of succession – you are only as good as your team, so develop the best team you can with the resources you have at your disposal.
Success in business is all about getting the business fundamentals right and the actions you take!
QUOTATION:
Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things, a chance word, a tap on the shoulder … I am tempted to think … there are no little things. (Bruce Barton)