Let’s face it, when you’re in a budget crunch you’re looking to slash any line item that doesn’t show an immediate return. In today’s recession, training is becoming that item more and more.
The U.S. corporate training market shrunk from $58.5 billion in 2007 to $56.2 billion in 2008, according to research firm Bersin & Associates. The average training expenditures per employee fell 11 percent from 2007 to 2008, and small and midsize businesses were hit the hardest, averaging 33 percent fewer training hours per employee.
You may think trimming or even axing training is justifiable — training takes time and money and doesn’t usually have an immediate return on investment. But educators say now is a prime time to enhance your employees’ skills, whether it’s taking advantage of slower business to cross train employees or supporting your employees in the additional responsibilities that they took on following company layoffs.
“Today, there’s a proliferation of people in the job market, and most companies are working with a lean staff, and usually that staff (is made up of) their highest performers,” says Donna VanRooy, director of professional development at Baldwin-Wallace College. “Training and development is one way that a company can ensure that they retain that work force now and also in the future when the market changes, [so] that that work force now feels that there is a commitment from the company investing in them.”
Eliminating your training or education budget can be detrimental. But there are ways to maintain productivity with fewer dollars, and it starts and ends with efficiency.
