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Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Invest for the long run in employee training during an economic downturn
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In an economic downturn, businesses often look at cutting employee training programs as a way to trim expenses. While providing immediate savings, eliminating employee training can prove costly in the long run. In today’s constantly changing business environment, where yesterday’s great innovation can be outdated tomorrow, it is important that all employees remain highly trained and on the cutting edge.
A business with a well-developed and strongly organized employee training program is one with employees working at their highest level to keep customers satisfied and ensure that the business remains highly competitive.
Rather than eliminate employee training during an economic downturn, managers should use the slowdown as an opportunity to invest in developing a process for establishing an effective training program. The process should ensure that each program is successful and administered as cost effectively as possible. Questions that should be included in any process for developing successful training programs include: Is training really needed on this particular topic or in this area? What is the best way to deliver the training? Are the goals and objectives clearly identifiable?
Once the decision has been made that a training program is required, the amount of planning necessary for success depends on the needs of the organization, the complexity of the subject matter and the length of time required to complete the training. At BBN Technologies, we have identified the following rules for planning successful employee training sessions:
1) The quality of training provides a higher return on investment than the quantity of training.
2) Establishing a process for adopting employee training programs is essential for proper execution from the planning stage to the training session itself.
3) Don’t try to save time during the planning stage. Investing the necessary time in the planning stage provides a higher probability of success.
4) Requesting employee input and incorporating it will get employees involved earlier and more willing to participate.
5) Provide the most cutting-edge information, top experts and best learning environment possible.
6) Establish a plan for follow-up and ongoing learning.
Recently, BBN held a successful employee training program on C++ with boost libraries. Planning for this workshop took months. The first step was to gather data through an employee survey to determine what should be taught during the session. Once the specific material was identified, we used a vendor to customize the workshop to reflect the needs of the group. Next, we designed a learning environment for the employees, which included the selection of the best location, materials, teaching method and instructors. Finally, with all of this in place, implementation began. By following the outlined process for thorough preparation, the workshop began with little needing to be done other than executing the seminars.
Given the amount of material that needed to be covered and the specialized nature of the topic, the workshop was scheduled over a four-week period. The employees met twice a week with an instructor and once a week with a company facilitator. An e-mail list was created so that the participants could communicate with one another outside of the meetings. New content was introduced at each instructor-led session, and participants were given exercises to complete on their own time and then discussed during the following session.
This format encouraged idea sharing and accelerated the development of new methods and approaches. Between the instructor-led sessions, a facilitated group session was held. During this session, participants discussed the exercises and worked through the issues they encountered or asked questions on how to perform specific tasks. Resources such as books and links to articles were another support mechanism to aid in effective learning.
The employees used the e-mail list to share thoughts and ideas and work together on completing exercises, and the instructor was available through the email list to answer questions. The e-mail list also allowed for new information to be passed on to the group after the session was complete to ensure the learning and professional growth continued after the program was finished.
Requesting feedback once a program is completed is also another effective tool in following up to determine the value. In addition, this input can be used to make future improvements.
Gabriella La Monica is the training manager at BBN Technologies in Cambridge, Mass. She can be reached at glamonica@bbn.com.
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