Written by Devin Blewitt, Commercial Director at ITonlinelearning
When in comes to developing the skills of their team members, managers are often intimidated by the financial costs of doing so which in turn leads to vital professional development being shelved. With that being said, here’s a few key points to consider for any managers struggling with this dilemma as we dive into 2023.
What are some of the techniques and strategies businesses can employ to ensure costs are kept to a minimum when embarking on a training programme?
In order to keep costs down, businesses need to think in terms of efficiency. Rather than simply selecting the same training courses time and again, there needs to be a collaborative process between those undertaking the training and decision makers such as managers who want them to develop their skills. By ensuring that both sides get to have a say in what training is decided upon, the learner will be able to develop the skills that they know are needed for success, and those which the wider organisation believes are important. This therefore reduces the risk of them enrolling on a course which is irrelevant to their day to day operations which would be a waste of time and money all round.
Secondly, it’s worth mentioning that the where and the when of training programmes can be another area for savings to be made. Traditionally, those learning would have to head to a particular location at a prearranged time and stay there until the training is complete. However nowadays there has been a massive shift towards online learning, with all the learning material and support that a learner needs being able to access digitally. Therefore with just a computer, phone, or tablet device, learners can undertake training from their office or home at their convenience, reducing the need for once again time consuming and expensive travel. It also means that they can balance their learning with their regular work and personal responsibilities, if they have any dependents.
Is there a particular approach businesses can take with training providers that’s more cost-efficient?
It is often cheaper for multiple team members or an entire team to undergo training simultaneously, rather than each individual do so one at a time. Granted there will be scenarios where the entire team can’t be spared at once or each team member will have their own avenues of development to pursue, but if possible, learning as a team is often the best solution. This is because training providers tend to offer better rates for one big group course, making it cheaper overall than if everyone was to learn individually. It also enables the team to better discuss and record what is being taught, to help the business culture develop and improve knowledge retention rates long-term.
Can businesses find a way to utilise in-house resources? What else might fall under this bracket?
If a business wants to better utilise their in-house resources, a good place to start would be in regards to how individual goals are set. Typically from conversations which we have had with organisations across the country, both individual and team targets revolve around productivity and output. Of course, that is essential for any business to succeed but in strictly training terms, amending these targets to cover training is something that can really encourage team members to think about how they are helping their colleagues to learn. Simply setting a target or objective along the lines of “Train X amount of colleagues on Y piece of software” ties one’s performance and subsequent pay to how well they share knowledge, embedding training and development at the heart of worker’s motivation.
About the author
Devin Blewitt is the Commercial Director at ITonlinelearning.
Having originally joined ITonlinelearning back in 2013 as a Junior Web Designer, Devin has he worked his way up to through the company.
As their former Head of IT and Chief Information Officer before taking his current role, Devin has played a major part in their delivery of IT and project management training programmes to professionals from all backgrounds across the UK and is a respected authority on upskilling workers.