Whether training is perceived as an investment or expenditure depends entirely on the individual’s point of view. However, in most situations training is usually thought of as an investment – which has the potential to pay dividends, on a regular basis. Is this correct? Let’s take a look.
Training is an endeavour undertaken by a business to develop new skills or to enhance the existing ones in its primary staff. Training is more commonly provided to employees and managers – such as management training, but it can be extended to customers and suppliers too. The ultimate aim of training is to facilitate a better understanding of the essential concepts in the employees so that they can actively participate in conducting the various activities in extended areas of the business enterprise.
As most business coaching experts agree, there is always a delay experienced by a business between the time of investment in training and the time when the benefits are realised. This delay varies in length depending on the type of investment and the actual scope of the training involved. Training is generally considered to be a long-term investment, which very rarely pays off quickly; in most situations the real differences are seen in time. The returns on training endeavours are not realised at any single point in time – they pay off daily, therefore they are regarded as “Dividends”.
Training dividends can’t be completely measured in monetary terms, but they can be consistently measured in terms of:
1. Increased Productivity – By providing appropriate training, the productivity of the workforce can be increased, empowering employees to be able to set their own targets and achieve them in a timely manner.
2. Improved Communication and Participation – Training greatly helps in the improvement of communication among the staff members of an organisation.
3. Waste Reduction – With training, the workforce is able to understand the effective ways of doing a particular task and the procedures for minimising any wasted time or materials in their activities.
4. Reduced Labour Turnover – Trained and empowered employees are satisfied with the work that they do. This in turn automatically improves the retention of the employees in the business and significantly increases the loyalty of the current ones.
5. Improved Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty – When a customer is satisfied with the products and services of a company – he becomes loyal, and for the foreseeable future he will also be a source of continuous revenue for the company.
So finally, we have found that training is definitely a dividend driving activity! If you want to ensure that healthy dividends are always realised from training, you should conduct every aspect of this training with a decisive aim in mind.
Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of the L2L Group, specialising in providing Executive Coaching, Training and Consultancy Services to Businesses across the Globe. Want to learn more about these business success strategies? Get Alan’s popular FREE Business Pack today!
