This month, we’ll give you some good tips on how to make the case for training, which we’ll continue in November. Convince management and employees that training is crucial.
One of the first challenges trainers face is a resistance to training from both employees and management. Employees are frustrated about taking time away from their jobs, and managers aren’t convinced that time spent training is time well-spent. So you need to be able to effectively answer the question: “Why Train?”
In order to remain competitive in today’s global marketplace, it is vital that your company’s workforce maintains the best skills and know-how to produce the best products and services. That means initial training to get up to speed and continual training in all new technologies, systems, or methods that bring more efficiency, more features, and better services.
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Conversely, a poorly trained workforce is more likely to turn out poor-quality products. Even if employees receive top-notch initial training, your company can fall behind in the competitive marketplace if employees don’t continue to learn how to do their jobs better.
Training affects the bottom line in every department, including safety. Use the following facts and arguments for each department to make your case for training:
- Safety
–Regulation compliance avoids costly fines.
–Proper procedures avoid accidents, lost workdays, and workers’ compensation costs.
–Emergency preparation aids quick evacuation.
–First-aid training saves lives. - Human Resources
–Legal compliance avoids fines for the company.
–Career training aids employee retention.
–Discrimination training avoids costly lawsuits.
–Harassment training avoids lawsuits. - Operations
–More-efficient employees save costs.
–Training improves productivity—which increases profits.
–Up-to-date training gives you an edge over competitors.
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In short, an effective overall learning program for your company is a good return on investment (ROI). In fact, ROI analysis is an integral part of effective training evaluation because it gives specific measurements to the financial impact of training on the company’s bottom line. ROI answers the question: “For every dollar the company invests in training, how many dollars does the company get back?” You can make the case that investing in training is very cost-effective.
Why It Matters
- Training will be less effective if employees think that management isn’t fully behind it.
- Training will be less effective if employees think they don’t really need it.
- To conduct effective training, therefore, you need to be able to convince everyone that training is necessary for a safer, more productive workplace.