Don’t Cut Short Training Even in Difficult Times

Even during tough economic times it’s important to invest in staff training and development. Employees are typically the greatest asset a company has and play a critical role in helping it achieve its business goals. By conducting strategic training and development, organizations can ensure that employees have the knowledge and skills they need to keep up with emerging technologies as well as the growing demands of the business and marketplace.

Following are strategies for getting the most out of your training programs:

• Make sure you are ready. Is your organization ready to commit the time and resources needed to a training program? Do you have the support of top management? The most successful programs have the top-down support of the CEO and are part of the company’s learning culture.

• Determine your goals. Where is your organization heading? What type of competencies — skills, knowledge, and behaviors — do you need to get you there? Determine your short-term and long-term business goals and make sure your training and development plans are in alignment with them.

• Assess your current talent. Which competencies do you already have in place and which ones do you need to develop? Determine which competencies are feasible to develop in existing staff and which ones you will need to acquire through new hires. Assess key performers and high potential employees who can be groomed for leadership and higher level positions.

• Consider the different types of training and development your organization needs. Are there specific skills that can be taught in a classroom setting, such as training in the latest technologies? At the same time, consider the broader competencies that you need to develop organization-wide to bring about cultural change — such as collaboration, conflict resolution and problem solving. Additionally, focus on developing the next generation of leaders and their ability to motivate staff and manage teams. Employees hired for their technical skills require a different level of competencies when they become managers. These critical leadership qualities are harder to teach, yet often sorely needed for superstars who are accustomed to working on their own. To be most effective, leadership development needs to be conducted on an ongoing basis, involving regular, honest feedback from a coach or trainer.

• Use a variety of training methods. Based on the specific training and development goals, you can use mentoring, one-on-one coaching, and group learning environments. To keep employees engaged and reach them through the various ways they learn, use a variety of teaching methods, such as exercises, case studies, role playing and presentations.

• Build in ongoing feedback and rewards. Build in ongoing assessment and reward for training and development into employee evaluations. Work with employees to establish individual learning goals based on company needs, employee interests and talents, and job requirements. Try to engage employees in taking an active role in how they will achieve their training and development goals. Remember to recognize and reward employees for their achievements in training and development.

Training should be aligned with corporate goals and strategy and work in concert with other strategic human resources activities, such as recruitment, compensation, recognition and rewards, performance and retention programs. While it may be hard to imagine now, market conditions will change and opportunities will open up. Will your organization be ready to take advantage of them? By creating a learning culture that values and invests in training, you’ll develop employees who are well equipped to sustain your business and help it grow throughout economic ups and downs. That is an invaluable competitive advantage.

Nancy R. Mobley is president and CEO of Insight Performance Inc., a strategic human resources consulting firm in Dedham. She can be reached at webmaster@insightperformance.com or at 781-326-8201.