Can the business really spare the time for training?

Have you ever considered training your team and then wondered how you’d possibly spare the time? Training should always be a carefully considered activity that benefits both the employee and the business. Mandatory coaching, such as health and safety is a given and it’s relatively easy to justify the cost and time allocation associated with this. So, why is it more difficult to justify when it comes to longer term, specialised training options?

Time and cost

The thought of having to take employees away from productive activities to learn something new can be the cause of much stress. However, if you were to consider the cost of training in quantifiable elements of time and money, but then factor in the cost and time attributed to ‘fixing’ problems or incorrect corrective actions, you’d likely see the cost of training pale into insignificance.

In an economy driven by cost, a business has few routes to improve profits. Increasing prices of products and services is not going to cut it in a competitive market. Reducing costs internally and having employees that are able to work together to identify quick wins, preventative solutions and long-term improvement initiatives will drive the internal costs down and increase the profit margin.

Lean Six Sigma is a subject that provides employees with the knowledge and tools to optimise business performance. These skills help to identify the variation within a process that is often the root cause of many cost-increasing quality issues and wasteful activities. While the in the short-term this may require some investment of time, in the long-term the gains can outweigh the cost of investment 10-fold.

Plan, plan, plan!

To maximise the benefits, you need to provide training that will benefit your organisation and it’s processes as well as building the skills and knowledge of your employees. Planning will help you achieve a better outcome:

Conducting a skills gap analysis will help identify the kind of training you need to implement and in what areas of the business. Get your employees involved in the conversation and consider what skills will make their jobs easier.

Research funding to identify the support available for your training. The UK Government provide different types of funding for different training such as the Apprenticeship Levy. A good training provider will help you identify different routes to funding.

Support from direct managers is a must when planning any training activity. All learners will require some form of additional support with training activities. Empowerment will be key to success with most training activities. If you shape the people in the business to have the ability and drive to apply powerful improvement tools, they will take the business to another level and take care of it for years to come.

Good planning will make the learning journey much easier for all involved. Having a full picture of dates and involvement required will help the business accommodate activities and ensure success.

A small sacrifice of time in the short term to provide training for your employees will improve long-term productivity and create a skilled, motivated workforce.