WASTING YOUR TRAINING BUDGET
WASTING YOUR TRAINING BUDGET
Old habits die hard, and the most difficult part about learning new habits is not so much learning the new habits as getting rid of the old ones. We like to live in our comfort zone, the place of the familiar and predictable. It is hard to move out of the comfortable place into the unknown, to try something different. Sometime we realize that the way we did things in the past had its faults, but at least we knew what we were doing! Taking on new skills and knowledge requires overcoming the hurdle of natural resistance to change, which in turn comes down to a fear of the unknown. “I was successful the way things were, will I be as successful doing things the new way, or will I be shown up as a failure?”
The mistake made by many organizations is to assume that training leads to improved performance. It doesn’t. Improved performance comes from correct and consistent application of what was learnt in training. And that can only happen over time. Once the new skill or information has been learnt, a process of supervision, monitoring and coaching or mentoring needs to be in place to ensure that the person is correctly applying the new knowledge.
Training is essential, but it is only part of the process. While there is a lot to be said for learning to take place against unit standards under the NQF system so that people can gain formal recognition for learning, the downside is a proliferation of pre-packaged courses aligned with unit standards but not necessarily with organizational needs. The temptation in training is for organizations to pick courses off the shelf without a clear understanding of what they hope to achieve.
The most effective training takes place when organizations carefully define the exact outcome they want. This takes some time as often the problem which first presents itself is not the problem which needs resolving but is only a symptom of a deeper issue. Once that issue is defined then thought needs to be given to what the result of the training must be. Only then can a training programme be put into place which might involve standard training input to impart new knowledge, but will also require a process of monitored learning over time. Training is not completed when the trainee has attended the course. It is only completed when the trainee’s performance has changed to that which is required. Until organizations move from “quick fix” training interventions to a willingness to define exact outcomes and engage in a long term process to reach those outcomes, most of the training budget will continue to be wasted.
WASTING YOUR TRAINING BUDGET - To learn more about this author, visit Jonathan Payne's Website.
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A recent study has shown that only about 10 per cent of training is actually used in the workplace by the people who have been trained. In other words, people who attend training events learn new skills or information, and then go back to work and carry on as they did before, using very little of their new skills or knowledge.
Old habits die hard, and the most difficult part about learning new habits is not so much learning the new habits as getting rid of the old ones. We like to live in our comfort zone, the place of the familiar and predictable. It is hard to move out of the comfortable place into the unknown, to try something different. Sometime we realize that the way we did things in the past had its faults, but at least we knew what we were doing! Taking on new skills and knowledge requires overcoming the hurdle of natural resistance to change, which in turn comes down to a fear of the unknown. “I was successful the way things were, will I be as successful doing things the new way, or will I be shown up as a failure?”
The mistake made by many organizations is to assume that training leads to improved performance. It doesn’t. Improved performance comes from correct and consistent application of what was learnt in training. And that can only happen over time. Once the new skill or information has been learnt, a process of supervision, monitoring and coaching or mentoring needs to be in place to ensure that the person is correctly applying the new knowledge.
Training is essential, but it is only part of the process. While there is a lot to be said for learning to take place against unit standards under the NQF system so that people can gain formal recognition for learning, the downside is a proliferation of pre-packaged courses aligned with unit standards but not necessarily with organizational needs. The temptation in training is for organizations to pick courses off the shelf without a clear understanding of what they hope to achieve.
The most effective training takes place when organizations carefully define the exact outcome they want. This takes some time as often the problem which first presents itself is not the problem which needs resolving but is only a symptom of a deeper issue. Once that issue is defined then thought needs to be given to what the result of the training must be. Only then can a training programme be put into place which might involve standard training input to impart new knowledge, but will also require a process of monitored learning over time. Training is not completed when the trainee has attended the course. It is only completed when the trainee’s performance has changed to that which is required. Until organizations move from “quick fix” training interventions to a willingness to define exact outcomes and engage in a long term process to reach those outcomes, most of the training budget will continue to be wasted.
WASTING YOUR TRAINING BUDGET - To learn more about this author, visit Jonathan Payne's Website.
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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