Running a small business in this harsh economic climate is hard work. If you’re making a profit you’re doing well.
We all want to find new customers, protect margins and keep overheads as low as possible.
And training staff is one overhead that is typically trimmed by all businesses in times like these. Training is not a critical cost and one quick decision can result in some serious savings.
A director who works at a company with which I am also involved justified such a budget saving at a recent Board meeting:
“Why should we train people especially if they’re then going to leave the company?” he said with a frustrated tone. There was an edgy silence around the table. No one had expected the comment especially as the business had a strong people-focused ethos.
Then a colleague responded.
“What happens if we don’t train the staff and they stay?” In no time, we were thinking again.
And on that point, training need not be an expensive, time consuming activity. If you haven’t used it yet, Lynda.com is a fabulous website that provides a vast array of excellent training resources on almost every business subject. And resources are available on a subscription basis for only a few pounds.
