In the current economic climate, can I justifiably ask my employer to pay for a training programme?
Your desire, or need, for training should not just be centred around the economic climate. Any request for development should ultimately have its roots in three key areas: your ability to provide a viable business case; proof that the development opportunity is aligned to your organisation’s needs; and evidence of how a return on investment can be measured.
Make sure you demonstrate how the training you want to undertake will have a long-term benefit. Many people think they can attend a training course, come back to work and make immediate improvements. Of course, some tangible benefits should be evident in the short-term, but you need to inject a sense of realism into any request you make. Show what you expect to be able to contribute to the business over a longer time-frame, as well, as a way of demonstrating return on investment and, at the same time, your commitment to supporting your employer.
Whether the economy is strong or unpredictable, employers are understandably concerned about the cost of training their staff. Yet, whilst there is a financial outlay to be made, provided the learning is relevant to your role, your employer should also look at the cost of not building your capabilities - the cost of lost business if you don’t have the right skills to win or retain clients.
Your employer may also be aware of the mistakes of the early 1990s when many businesses reacted to the slowdown by cutting training budgets. The problem was that they didn’t have the resources and skills to cope when the economy improved. To some degree, the decision to halt management and leadership development could be blamed in part for the skills crisis that we are currently experiencing.
You should also consider the type of training you want. Most people immediately think of ‘going off site’ and many employers may be nervous about it because of the time spent away from winning business or handling client requests. So it is interesting to note that a study published by CMI reveals a surge in the use of new media over the past 12 months, as a route towards skills development. The implication is that you should think about all the options available to you. Indeed, using resources such as online videos to learn from others may provide you and your colleagues with easily accessible information. Also, consider the fact that many people are now making use of discussion forums – in other words there are a number of like-minded individuals who you can learn from whilst sitting at your desk!
You should, however, not simply rely on the open source nature of the Internet. Doing so may mean that more time is spent scouring for relevant information than absorbing the key details that will help you perform better. So perhaps see what resources exist which relate to your organisations needs that can be accessed online.
Of course, online learning shouldn’t be a direct replacement for face-to-face development. But, a mix of online and offline learning will provide greater return on investment because it allows individuals to work at their own pace or use a range of methods to suit different learning styles.
Ultimately, though, your employer will need to take a careful look at their chosen approach to make sure they are in a position to develop the skills at their disposal; either that or let their competitors build an advantage through a better trained workforce.
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