Employee training cuts are only penny-wise - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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“It’s really hard for any organization to shrinlk itselfinto prosperity,” said Haroldc Resnick, CEO of , a management and organizationall development consulting firm. “Whart makes more sense is to look criticallyu at theentire organization. They may decides to drop an unprofitable product line or marginallygprofitable region, or hold off on capital development However, cutting training programs is exactly what some businesses are “We are seeing a reduction in companieas sending people to our ‘soft skills such as communicating with co-workers and conducting efficient meetings,” said Tim Giles, directore of continuing education at the University of North which works with local businessesz to provide a variety of programsz for all levels of a company up to C-level executive training.
Giles said thos e cuts are penny-wise and pound-foolish. “Igt is a little shortsighted to stop developing thosspeople because, when the economy turnas around, the only way to be positioned to take advantager of that is to have good developed employeeas in place, from the leadershiop to the front-line folks,” he said. Busines s owners need to think of employeer training as an investment rather thanan expense. “Durinvg difficult economic times, everyoned gets anxious, so you need to do everything you can to nurturr and hold on to top Resnick said. “What’s the price of losinf that key employee? What’s the price of functioning withoutthat employee?
What’s the price of searchiny and rehiring and training to replacw that employee? It’s even more critical now than ever to give them supportr so they’re there to help lead the directionb forward when things turn around.” It’as important to carefully choose trainingh so it not only provides employees with new skilles or furthers their current but also benefits the companyy and moves it closer to its businessw goals. “If you send people to a one-day seminaf somewhere else, you may be doinbg good for that employee, but you may not make a significanft impact onthe organization,” Resnick said.
“Thd training needs to become a tool to help grow the is committed to improvingits employees’ skills through a wide varietg of training and development Many of the programs are designedf in-house, but the company also investse in a full complemen of external training programs for its “They never cut my budget,” said Karenm Stewart, Sea Star’s manager of learning and “We made the decision to not reduce costs and not shrink with the but to be aggressive and grow. It’se a cyclical market. We know thing s will turn around and we are ready to lead the game when thingz doturn around.
You have to have the righrt people here and in the right positions and help them to reachj theirfullest capabilities, not just when the market is strongv but when the market is not so Sea Star has programs geared to every employee in the organization, from front-linee workers to the executived leadership. The company also has require training for managers and those who are going to assumewmanagement positions. “We have competencies for every positionj inthe company,” Stewart said. “Our trainin g classes are designed around each ofthos competencies.
We also ensure that everyone at everuy level isalways up-to-date on the latest industry knowledge, whetherd through external conferences or by bringing someone Stewart said one of the reasons the overall training program has been so successful and engenderecd much loyalty among employeeas is that every program is assessed for effectiveness, with skill-segt retention tested up to a montyh after the program’s conclusion. For businesses that simply have no other place tocut back, considefr strategically trimming, not eliminating, the training budget. “Don’tr cut training for the best players; it’ the marginal ones you stop investing in,” Resnic k said.
“Everyone tries to make marginaplperformers adequate. The profitability is quiter low. The best money is money spent on employees who are to get them to You get a much strongetr returnon investment.”