The training was a failure. All of that time, all of that
effort, all of that money, just gone, just out the window and gone. What other
explanation was there, after all, for drop after drop in the hard numbers from
a talented sales team in the wake of a training and development session?
It could have happened at any business, but for the purposes
of this story, it happened at a large technology company with headquarters in
the Midwest. The top executives, frantic for answers, called a corporate
training firm. “Our sales are down,” the executives said. “We need training.”
That technology company was part of a large percentage of
businesses that continued to invest in corporate training, education and
development during the last couple of years. Thousands and thousands of others
turned away from training, unable or unwilling to spend more money during the
recession.
But a panel of more than 30 industry experts and academic
professionals agreed that it would have been far better for businesses to
continue to spend on training during those tough times — to invest in their
employees and to show the extent of that investment, to improve the business
and keep it up to date, to be in a better position when the economy ultimately
turns around — than to tighten the budget. The same rule applies now, too.
“Human assets are what create the competitive advantage for
an organization in this economy,” says Amy Lane, executive director, corporate
and community services, Kent State University. “It’s critical to have the
training to become innovative and compete effectively. Training is what will
make the organization most competitive and allow the employees to help meet
strategic objectives.”
Make a plan
Members of the corporate training firm arrived the next day
and talked with as many employees as possible at the technology company, from
executives to engineers to those slumping sales representatives and everyone
else in between. They prodded and probed and asked questions. They were curious
about what, exactly, had happened.
They wanted to know, before they embarked on another
training session, whether another training session was actually necessary.
This is what you should do when you’re in the process of
determining whether to invest in training and development for your employees.
You should prod and probe and plan, because just as you shouldn’t approach a
new business venture without a model and a solid idea of what you want to
accomplish, neither should you approach training without thoughts of what you
need to tackle.
“The areas where companies should train employees really
depend on the company’s needs, which can be determined by conducting a needs
analysis or assessment,” says Manny Avramidis, senior vice president, global
human resources, American Management Association. “It really depends on your
situation, your industry, the business, the personnel, whether you have new
products or venues.”
And though those needs will vary from business to business,
from industry to industry, there are a number of common training areas on which
almost all businesses should focus. General communication and technology skills
are as important now as always. Leadership
development, team building and project management are also increasingly
important because of the changing demographics and economy.
“Project management seems to be taking off quite a bit,”
Avramidis says. “There are fewer and fewer traditional managers in place.
People have been asked to manage projects with numerous employees or
cross-functional teams, and they’re asked to manage without direct authority.
We’ve seen quite a bit of activity there.”
