People Development Need Not be Expensive

There are some highly skilled occupations that require up to one-third of the person’s time to be devoted to training or maintenance of skills. This can just as easily apply to an automotive electrical engineer as it can to a developer of complex computer programs.

Then there are the majority of occupations that get little or no formal training once the person starts their employment. Cost-conscious managements may think they’re saving money by not providing “unnecessary” training but may in fact be creating a very expensive problem for themselves.

People development should be an essential part of every business. Regardless of the function a team member performs, their performance can be improved by putting them through a training program that’s relevant to their role. What’s also important is that training people gives them a higher feeling of personal worth and an appreciation towards the company for providing it.

Studies have consistently shown that giving a team member some form of training at least once a year increases the likelihood of them remaining with the business. It’s also been found that their performance of their job responsibilities demonstrates improvement even if their role is unchanged. This is a true win-win situation.

There’s even more value to be obtained by training a member of your team if you can leverage what they’ve learned. Make it part of the deal that every team member who attends a training session has to share their newfound information with others in the business when they return.

This is going to make them really motivated trainees during their training. They’ll have to pay attention and get a comprehensive grasp of the subject so they can come back and do their own presentation. You also might want to ask them to recommend how this knowledge can be applied — in their own role and other positions in the business if it’s applicable.

It’s possible to leverage your development expenditure in many ways. These are just a few ideas that will help you extend your training budget without additional expense:

The Learning Library
If your firm purchases a book for a team member ask them to summarize it and how it relates to the business. Circulate these summaries and make the book available to others who might be interested in reading it.

Teach Your Own Job to Others
Ask team members to make a presentation about their own jobs to everyone else in the business. Be sure they communicate the insights they’ve learned that could benefit their colleagues.

Rotate a Position
There are usually functions in a small business that can be performed without a great amount of specialized knowledge. Answering telephones or collecting and distributing the mail are not perhaps the most interesting tasks but necessary nevertheless.

If you consolidate all these duties into one position and rotate everyone in the business through that job it will provide a break from routine and give everyone a chance to see the business from a different perspective.

Share with Your Suppliers or Customers
See if your suppliers or customers have a position or positions in their businesses that are the equivalent of a job in your business. You might be able to exchange people for a week or two and broaden everyone’s horizons. There’s nothing wrong with getting to know suppliers and customers better, either.

Team Debriefings
Similar to the “Teach your own job to others”, in this case an entire team makes a presentation about their activities to others in the business. Sales and accounts may never otherwise meet, and this will help them appreciate the other team’s function.

The principle of sharing knowledge is simple and the benefits can be great for an SME with specialized people going about their jobs independently of others in the business. As team members learn more about their colleagues and the work they perform they’ll also be learning ways to do their own jobs better.

Copyright 2004, RAN ONE Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from www.ranone.com.