Training is too expensive
The real question is: What is the real cost of not training your employees? Objectives get pushed back, causing costly delays in every department.
High turnover
Companies are concerned that if they train their employees, the employees will leave the company. This is not true. Trained employees tend to stay longer with their current employers and get more satisfaction from the work they are doing. There are other intangibles of training. It improves employee morale and employees feel important in their roles. If training is also part of the benefits package, it will help attract stronger candidates for employment.
Training takes time from production
Many companies can work around scheduling challenges and accommodate training and productivity objectives. For example, rather than have a 5-day (8 hours per day) class, make it a 10-day (4 hours per day) class over a two-week period. The employees can attend class in the morning and then work in the afternoon. By using internal facilitators the training can also personalize training so that it is very specific and the employees can be trained on exactly what they need. When managers are involved in the training of employees, they can easily monitor the actions of those employees being trained
Where are the long-term benefits?
Training helps improve internal processes and also helps with external customers. Outstanding service is very important for external customers. With full-time employees, it benefits them and the company to be timely and accurate on their projects. With the right training, the employees will be more confident, more productive and a better employee overall.
Perhaps the best way to think about training is like proper dental hygiene, you only have to take care of those teeth you want to keep and stay healthy. The trade-off of failing to train your staff will manifest itself in productivity losses, employee turnover and employee morale. While investment in your staff is always a challenge, if you have a technology-based business, training is essential to the health of the organization because of the rate of change.
Source: Jim Strutton, CEO, Accountability Plus, Inc.; Strutton@Accountability-Plus.com; 770-205-8171
