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Why Training Matters

It is an investment organizations must make

Training should be a component of every organization’s strategic plan. Training provides significant benefits for organizations including:

  • Providing employees the skills and knowledge necessary to move the organization forward
  • Enabling for improved recruitment and retention of top talent
  • Demonstrating to employees that the organization cares about them and their professional development

Without training, employees don’t have the skills necessary to achieve the organization’s strategic goals. Their innovation is hindered. They cannot adopt new technologies. It becomes difficult for the organization to compete effectively in an increasingly competitive environment. And…over time employees become disengaged. The job becomes boring. There is nothing new to learn; nothing new to excite employees.

Training, however, should not be haphazard. Organizations don’t simply want to run a number of workshops and put butts in seats. Checking the box that x number of employees attended training in a year is not a worthwhile metric. It doesn’t prove the value nor effectiveness of training. Feel free to track it of course, just don’t try to use it with leadership to prove that an investment in training is worth it.

Determining Training Needs

Be strategic about the training that is offered employees to ensure your investment meets the long-term strategic needs of the organization. Align training needs directly to:

  • The strategic plan
  • Departmental goals
  • Solving business problems
  • Ensuring a competitive edge
  • Addressing skills development needs of employees

Let me give you an example of what one of our clients does each year to determine what they will offer for training workshops.

Client A, a global pharma company, holds a meeting with all department managers as well as Abudi Consulting Group, their training partner, to evaluate training accomplished during the year. The focus is on how employees applied the training, what differences in performance that managers realized and overall perceptions of the training delivered. This enables us to “tweak” as necessary to continue to meet the organizational training goals/objectives. This time is also used to check in on goals for each of the departments as well as to discuss challenges in meeting those goals. Additionally, a survey is sent to all employees to understand from their perspective what skills development they need to be successful in the role. And, finally, a review of the organization’s strategic plan enables for ensuring that we are planning training that helps the employees to achieve long-term goals.

All of this data gathered is used to determine the schedule of training offered during the year as well as to develop department-specific training to meet very specific needs of a particular group.

Training needs will change from year to year. What was successful one year may not be necessary or successful the following year. Add to your calendar some time prior to the fiscal year start to evaluate what skills development you are offering employees to be sure that what you offer is what they need, when they need it to meet the goals of the organization.

Get the White Paper

https://www.abudiconsulting.com/making-the-business-case-to-train-employees/

I wrote a white paper on making the business case for training investment. You can download it here: Making the Business Case to Train Employees.

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