Where Does Training Fit Now?

Today I added an RSS feed from a site that some of you may have already come across HRM – the Social Network For Today’s HR professionals.

I like this blog because it focuses so much on the positive. The writer understands that when the chips are down there are two ways for a company to go:
1. Inward looking, concentrating on cost cutting, losses and fear
2.Upward looking, building on the team that remains and the values they can share

The first is a recipe for disaster; the second keeps everyone focused on possibilities and invention. I know the type of business I want to be in.

HR managers on many sites must be facing some tricky situations if they're dealing with redundancies and a shrinking workforce, a shrinking market and little time for keeping that important training going. Actually the need for training becomes even more important in a shrinking workforce, because the employees who are left are often expected to become multi-skilled.

In these times, the businesses that paid attention to upskilling and training will be benefiting from their foresight. They’ll have employees ready to step (even if reluctantly) into the shoes of employees who have left. Other businesses will struggle to quickly upskill staff and may even have difficulty finding the information that was so efficiently catalogued in the minds of the employees who have left. Inevitably employees who leave disgruntled often make sure that vital information is NOT made easily available – “’cos whatcha going do about it?”

Assuming you have staff who are able to pick up the pieces and continue production/trading/creating services at a reduced level, you cannot, even in a recession, forget the importance of training. You may need, however, to review the type of training you’re providing. Fewer employees on the job will mean fewer opportunities to take them off the floor or away from clients in order to attend courses. It may be time to look at alternative training opportunities.

We have designed resources for a number of clients who had to deliver training at a distance. In today’s financial climate the ‘distance’ may only be from your desk to theirs. Self-directed learning can be a cost-effective and easily adapted option as it allows learning to take place in small bursts, at a time to suit the learner.