| According to a Gallup Poll, 80 percent of employees | | | | - Less costly to send just one or two people to |
| said the availability of company-sponsored training | | | | training. |
| programs was a factor in deciding whether to accept | | | | - Encourages employees to educate others about |
| a new job or stick with a current one. And yet the | | | | their expertise, often resulting in greater awareness |
| Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the average | | | | and communication among departments. |
| number of hours of formal training per employee per | | | | - Allows facetime and open discussion among |
| year is only 10.7. | | | | colleagues. |
| More companies are starting to realize that it's smart | | | | Cons: |
| to invest in training, but faced with so many choices, | | | | - Teaching abilities vary greatly; there's a high risk |
| how can an organization make sure it's getting the | | | | that some instructors will not communicate |
| most out of its educational investment? | | | | information well. |
| What do you need? | | | | - Planning and teaching take away time from core |
| Training can take several forms, from simply | | | | responsibilities, which may hinder overall productivity. |
| encouraging subscriptions to key trade magazines to | | | | - Employees may feel inhibited to ask questions or |
| reimbursing tuition for degree programs. Before you | | | | challenge information. |
| decide where to put your training dollars, it's vital to | | | | Offsite Classes at Training Center or Community |
| do a full needs assessment. This might involve polling | | | | College |
| general employees one-by-one during evaluations or | | | | Nearly every metropolitan area has a community |
| en masse via e-mail polls. It could even mean asking | | | | college that offers adult or continuing education |
| customers where they'd like to see your company | | | | classes. Some cities also have learning centers that |
| improve in areas such as customer care, product | | | | offer courses taught by successful entrepreneurs or |
| innovation, communications technology or billing. | | | | industry gurus. |
| Another piece of needs assessment weighs training | | | | Pros: |
| outcomes against big-picture strategies and | | | | - Standard agendas every semester ensure some |
| operational requirements. It's relatively simple to | | | | continuity in the information learned. |
| evaluate individual progress, but if the company as a | | | | - Courses are taught by professionals with industry |
| whole doesn't gain a competitive edge by saving | | | | experience and teaching ability. |
| money, processing information faster, serving | | | | - A mixture of on- and off-line classes is often |
| customers better, decreasing harassment complaints | | | | available. |
| - or whatever the goal is - then another training | | | | Cons: |
| method should be considered. | | | | - Courses may span several weeks, too long to hold |
| Which Type of Training? | | | | some employees' attention. |
| After the needs assessment, you then need to | | | | - Unless prerequisites are required, students at any |
| analyze which type of training is best for your | | | | level may participate, forcing the teacher to pace the |
| company. Below are the most common training | | | | class for the lowest-common denominator. |
| formats and the pros and cons of each. | | | | One-off Seminars |
| Online Training | | | | For specific or motivational topics, employees can |
| There are literally thousands of online options | | | | attend one-shot "celebrity" seminars, given by |
| available; some involve weekly e-mail correspondence | | | | professional speakers or executives. Several |
| with a teacher, while some are automated, | | | | non-profit and professional organizations also hold |
| set-your-own-pace programs. | | | | development courses, designed for busy people who |
| Pros: | | | | need fine-tuning in one area. |
| - Access to world-class instructors and institutions, | | | | Pros: |
| without travel costs. | | | | - Easy to evaluate the quality of the presenters |
| - Flexible scheduling for participation at home or | | | | based on testimonials and past reviews. |
| during lunch hours. | | | | - Poses an opportunity to network with industry |
| - Generally less expensive than traditional classroom | | | | colleagues. |
| courses. | | | | - Introduces outside-the-company-box ways to |
| Cons: | | | | approach challenges. |
| - Requires self-imposed discipline and focus. | | | | Cons: |
| - Little social interaction with other students and | | | | - Some seminars are mainly venues for authors |
| teachers. | | | | speakers to sell books and other products. |
| - Assumes some level of technical competence. | | | | - One-time events encourage new thinking, but |
| Onsite Training by Consultant | | | | unless employees act on their ideas immediately, |
| If many people in the company need to be trained at | | | | there may be no long-term behavioral change. |
| once or if training is for onsite computers or | | | | Degree Programs |
| equipment, then bringing a trainer to the office may | | | | For employees who want to get to the next level or |
| make the most sense economically. This method also | | | | change their career focus, offering to cover all or |
| works well for personalized subjects, such as | | | | some credits towards a degree ensures that they |
| supervisory skills, fair hiring practices or | | | | stay at their jobs as they increase knowledge and |
| anti-harassment. | | | | enhance skills. Many companies require that |
| Pros: | | | | employees stay with the company or repay some of |
| - Travel time and costs for employees are negligible. | | | | the tuition money if they decide to leave after |
| - Curriculum can be customized for company's specific | | | | receiving the degree. |
| needs. | | | | Pros: |
| - Equipment or computers they're learning on are the | | | | - Encourages employees to continue their core |
| same they'll be working on, so there's no time | | | | education and contribute more to the company's |
| wasted on irrelevant information. | | | | general knowledge base. |
| - Third-party trainer brings teaching expertise and a | | | | - Attracts motivated, dedicated employees who |
| non-biased approach to the classroom. | | | | want to learn. |
| Cons: | | | | - Prompts employees to work towards their dream |
| - People may find it hard to stay away from their | | | | jobs, fostering a happier and more productive |
| offices to attend classes for the time required, which | | | | workforce. |
| defeats the purpose of training. | | | | Cons: |
| - Consultants may not be familiar with your | | | | - Programs can be intense and may exhaust |
| company's equipment or computers, or you may not | | | | employees to a point that detracts from their |
| have adequate facilities for lectures or interactive | | | | on-the-job performance. |
| education. | | | | Regardless of the type of training that you decide to |
| - Expense for high-quality instructors is relatively high. | | | | offer, it's important to gather constant feedback, to |
| Onsite Training by Company's Own Management | | | | make sure you're always spending your money and |
| Many companies send a few employees to training, | | | | time wisely. Perhaps you'll find that you need to offer |
| then they rely on those people to come back and | | | | more than one type, so employees with different |
| spread the knowledge to the team. Or, they create | | | | learning styles can get the most out of the training. |
| their own courses and enlist employees to impart | | | | And don't forget to sign yourself up-employees at |
| their wisdom on colleagues. | | | | every level can benefit! |
| Pros: | | | | |