Enhance the Skills of Your Team & See a Return

Businesses that use training to increase the skills of team members can enjoy improved team performance and a better ROI on their salary expenses. This will only happen if a number of factors are given consideration before the training begins.

A high standard of training is expensive and represents a significant investment by the business in its human capital. The training given should be relevant to the needs of the business and the potential of the team member.

Training has benefits that aren’t directly related to the function performed by the trainee. For example, training creates a feeling of being wanted – I wouldn’t be getting this training if the company didn’t have plans for me in its future.

Training is interesting for the person who’s learning new skills. It can reawaken their interest in the work they do as well as create feelings of loyalty to the firm. It can help retain key personnel who might be considering a career change. It can also prepare a team member to accept greater responsibility and thereby reduce the load on their manager.

There also seems to be a link between training and business performance. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) found that of 575 publicly traded firms reviewed between 1996 and 1998, those that invested $680 more in training per employee than the average company in the study improved their total stockholder return by 6%.

Firms in the top quarter of the study group invested an average of $1,595 per employee in training and had 24% higher gross profit margins and 218% higher income per employee than firms in the bottom quarter that invested just $128 per employee.

But while it might seem a good idea to develop a team member’s potential it should be remembered that there must be a use for the increased skills in the business. For this reason training is often given as part of an intended pr0motion to a role requiring specific higher skill levels.

Start by analyzing the skills needed by your firm. If you’re chasing a lot of new business you might find that too much is being spent on outside services like graphic design and artwork. If a team member could be “upskilled” to perform basic desktop publishing for six hours a week it would save the company thousands of dollars every month.

This is a typical ‘skills gap’ of small business. It raises two important questions: Is there anyone in the firm who could be trained to become a part-time desktop publisher? If so could that person dedicate the six hours a week needed to perform the work without causing a problem somewhere else in the business?

If the answer to both questions is ‘yes’ the next step is to work out how the training should be performed and how much it will cost. Some skills are best enhanced by on-the-job experience while others are acquired via a classroom learning situation.

In some cases the training materials can be purchased ‘off the shelf’ and in other situations materials have to be specially developed for the task. The services of a professional trainer are often required.

Web-based training is also available for a wide range of skill enhancements and might be suitable for your requirements. Whatever it takes in the way of materials or expertise, the training investment will be wasted if these key elements of the program aren’t right. Trying to do training ‘on the cheap’ is dangerous!

Discuss the training with the team member whose skills you want to upgrade. Get their input and see how they feel about it. If they won’t volunteer a commitment to undergo the training and use what they’ve learned for the company’s benefit, don’t try and force them into it.

Work out the training objectives from two perspectives – the businesses’ and the individual’s. The desired outcomes should be clearly stated and must be measurable so that the success or failure of the training can be accurately assessed.

Timelines should be incorporated into the evaluation process so it can be worked out whether the desired level of performance has been reached within the duration allowed.

Something else to consider is the need for regular skills updates. Any skills that are technology-based can quickly become out-of-date without regular maintenance. Updates, if relevant can be included in your plans as part of the overall training process.

Finally, training isn’t something that’s only for long-serving team members. For new team members training can save time and cost much less than letting people learn ‘the hard way’. It can transmit information about the firm’s culture. It reduces employee frustration, and it can prevent the development of incorrect work habits that will have to be unlearned later.

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Copyright 2003, RAN ONE Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from www.ranone.com.