In preparing for the upturn and to be ready to seize the opportunities for more businesses as the economy recovers, businesses need to invest in staff training, even during the economic downturn. In a Times Online article (2nd November 2008), the author cited research from Cranfield School of Management’s Nurturing Talent study which concluded that employers would gain more from training employees than recruiting new talent.

Over the past nine months, some businesses have reported a loss of market share and lower spend by individual customers. For others, however, it is a time of increased income as they find new opportunities in the marketplace. They have spent time at the director level discussing and identifying new strategies to bring in new customers. In some instances, they have invested in the services of a Business Coach to help them set realistic and achievable goals to help their businesses expand or increase profitability. They have begun their preparation for the upturn as they want to be ready to take new opportunities and use up spare plant capacity when the overall economy is in growth.

Grants to fund staff training in businesses

In the United Kingdom, the Learning and Skills Council funds vocational training for employees to gain recognised National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). For businesses with a strong research culture, subsidised training can be had through some local universities that are keen to provide work placements and stimulating projects in manufacturing/industry for their undergraduate and post-graduate students.

In addition, UK business support agencies such as Business Link provide short, taster courses on a wide range of business support topics, which are available FREE to Small and Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs), including many start-up businesses. Other business support and regional development agencies have initiatives in support of business that recognise the need for and are keen to invest in training as part of a strategy to grow their business and/or increase profitability. Such support can be through attendance at formal classroom courses, in company seminars and workshops or business coaching for business owners/directors or management teams. This gives businesses the flexibility to customise training or coaching interventions to meet their specific business needs and best suited to their situation.

Benefits of Training and Return on Investment

In some businesses, a budget is allocated to cover the cost of mandatory training, but upward revision becomes necessary when staff turnover is higher than expected and new recruits have to be sent off for their basic food safety/handlers training, for example. Other businesses take the approach of budgeting for mandatory training for non-management staff and leadership and management training for Managers and Directors.

Ways in which your business benefits when you invest in training your staff are:

Ensure you retain dedicated and highly motivated employees who feel great being part of a successful business.
Reduce your recruitment costs, even if you do not contract a recruitment agency and, instead, rely on recommendations from existing employees/directors. Time has to be spent dealing with the administrative aspects of hiring and firing, e.g., HM Customs and Revenue, and additional time is required to get the new employee ‘up to speed’.
Maintain high customer loyalty. Customers like feeling part of your business when they are not confronted with ever changing staff dealing with their account.
Research has shown that staff are trained are more highly motivated that those whose employers do not invest in training.

Progressive companies meet their training requirement by having training done on site or training rooms nearby and as half-day sessions, rather than full days. In this way, there is less time required for staff travel, so staff can return to their stations soon after training. Further, work continues as the staff can be divided into two groups for training, so that work continues even during training.

Companies that use the services can strengthen their business through use of external trainers many of whom can suggest options for more efficient ways of management or building teams in the workplace rather than sending the Manager to external training to return and apply the new learning in the workforce.

There is often concern about return to the business from investment in training. Low returns are sometimes a consequence of trained staff not being able to readily apply new learning to improve the business and increase profitability. Increasingly, some employers are considering and including more longer term strategies to training and have used Small Business Coaches, or Performance Coaches in some instances, to provide agreed guidance in setting realistic goals, exploring options for realisation of those goals and taking action to realise the business goals in an agreed time-frame.