Are you investing enough in training? -

Are you investing enough in training?

The war on talent is here…

Is this just a flashy headline? A brief storm in the recruitment market? Or an indicator of a more long term issue that desperately needs to be addressed?

For a long time businesses relied on “buying in” the talent and skills needed as they advanced through the growth of their business.

But “buying” talent from the marketplace is not a long term strategy. What one business gains another business loses. No one wins.

Worse still, with digital skills having an ever decreasing shelf life, this kid of investment might not even produce a tangible return in the longer term, and you may still be in the position of having a skills gap again within a short period.

A better long term strategy perhaps, would be to focus on the investment made in training, cross-training, and diversifying the skill sets of existing employees. This means not just employing people for their current qualifications and experience, but also identifying what their potential and capacity for learning is. This adds to the available skills and potentially supports retaining those employees you have attracted.

So, are you investing enough in this area?

Many businesses are reluctant to spend time and money training staff. There are a number of reasons why this may be. From worrying that the employee will leave before a return on the investment is achieved, to simply not knowing what the right investment is to be made.

Some businesses simply do not know how to maximise the potential returns so see training as a waste of money.

So, is there a way to maximise the potential? We believe the following steps can support a training program, and heighten the effect and impact.

Allocate a budget for training, this can be a dedicated figure or a targeted percentage of overall staff costs
Dedicate time for training, whether that’s a number of days across a year, or a regular weekly slot where employees are encouraged to learn something new.
Build learning tracking into the appraisal process, encouraging employees and their managers to reflect on the skills that they have, and the areas where they would need to improve. Design a plan to meet these needs, including both formal and informal forms of training.
Consider a succession plan for the business. Focusing on the potential that each employee shows. What skills, knowledge and experience will they need to be offered in order to maximise their potential?
Promote a culture of continuous learning where employees understand that this is something valued by the business. And they feel that they are able to take time away from their daily workload to focus on training and learning new skills. Consider whether this should be reflected in the official values of the business.
Consider how your recruitment process reflects and targets not just what people have done, but what they have the potential to do.

So, if you see the chance to maximise your impact and make your long term investment plan a reality