10 Ways to Cut Your Training Budget
10 Ways to Cut Your Training Budget
1. Provide more self-help workbooks and on-the-job aids.
Replace some of the high cost training sessions with materials and aids placed where people do the work. Laminated procedures, checklists, tips’n’tricks, lists of shortcut keys, ready reckoners, and so on, may be effective replacements for full-blown training sessions. If somebody is having difficulty handling angry customers or using Microsoft Excel, check out your local training publishers for self-paced workbooks.
2. Conscript local experts or coaches to take the place of some training sessions.
If people have some knowledge and skills about the subject, identify one or two local experts in each area to act as a central point for all questions. Make sure that the experts and coaches you nominate have the required communication and interpersonal skills.
3. Cut training sessions that do not add value to the organization.
Does your organization really need that assertiveness skills training course? What tangible benefit did your organization achieve from it? Drop courses that do not show a demonstrable advantage to your organization. I’m not saying that these kinds of courses are never worthwhile. During difficult periods is the time to review whether they are of real benefit to your organization now.
4. Reduce participant contact time for face-to-face training.
If you outsource some of your training or hire outside contractors, trimming contact hours can save you direct costs. If you pay salaried in-house trainers, having participants spend less time away from their work will save on lost opportunity costs. Save upfront time by sending out preliminary materials for participants to review before they arrive. Save trailing time by placing job aids in the workplace, setting up on-the-job coaches or conscripting participants’ managers to oversee workplace assignments and exercises.
5. Review and rationalize your list of training suppliers.
Where you use more than one training vendor for a course or a range of courses, negotiate a better deal based on increased volume. A shorter list of suppliers also means that you are able to develop a better quality business relationship with each. For your other suppliers, use your best negotiating skills to drum down rates. Do your homework and shop around. In tough economic times, suppliers will be well tuned to not wanting to lose existing clients. If possible, do not compromise on quality.
6. Review material costs and printing practices.
Find a more cost-effective printing house and consider using recycled, lighter weight or less fancy paper. Print on both sides of the paper, if you are not doing so already, for all learner and trainer materials. Send out softcopy versions of learner materials, if at all possible.
7. Replace original graphics with stock images.
If you pay for the services of expensive graphic designers or spend a lot on licensing copyrighted graphics, consider using stock images. There are a number of free and low cost stock image websites available now with an expanding range of quality images.
8. Enroll employees on courses at local colleges and universities.
Some learning institutions provide high quality learning. Find out what is available in your locality and compare with your current offerings. Federal and state governments subsidize some courses provided by such institutions, making such courses very cost effective.
9. Relocate seminars held at off-site convention centers.
This option may not prove popular with the executive, but everyone needs to tighten their belts. You can save significant amounts on travel and accommodation by hosting the seminar more locally or in-house.
10. Demonstrate how your training courses help achieve solid organizational objectives.
Gather reliable and convincing data that shows how the achievement of course learning outcomes lead to real benefits to the organization. How exactly do your training programs contribute to lower error rates, more satisfied customers, higher turnover, or whatever it is that your executive team considers important? In some cases, you may need to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of a training program to prove bottom-line worth.
The suggestions above are not prioritized in any order. Which activities you focus on will, of course, depend on your circumstances. I do want to point out that the first nine suggestions above go along with the idea that everyone needs to tighten their belt in tough times and that the training function is not sacrosanct. When you are asked to cut costs, you and your training department will be more respected if you replace a “Yes, but …” response with a “Yes, and this is what we are doing about it.”
The final suggestion uses a different approach. It says that if you cut these training programs, the organization will actually lose money or some other much valued benefit. The two approaches, of course, are not mutually exclusive and can in fact work in tandem. And don’t forget, we don’t need to be in the middle of a financial meltdown to be asked to trim down our training expenditures. Keep the ten pointers above in your bottom drawer, ready for the next time your CEO comes to you with that pained looked on her face.
© Leslie Allan. All rights reserved.
10 Ways to Cut Your Training Budget - To learn more about this author, visit Leslie Allan's Website.
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This may not be the first time that your CEO has sliced your training budget and I am sure it will not be the last. If you already run a lean and mean training function, then congratulations on your efforts. You may find, though, that your previous good management will not slow the CEO from asking you to shed some more expenses. Whether you have already optimized your training function in the past or you realize that you have a long way to go, here are ten practical steps that you can take to weather any financial storm.
1. Provide more self-help workbooks and on-the-job aids.
Replace some of the high cost training sessions with materials and aids placed where people do the work. Laminated procedures, checklists, tips’n’tricks, lists of shortcut keys, ready reckoners, and so on, may be effective replacements for full-blown training sessions. If somebody is having difficulty handling angry customers or using Microsoft Excel, check out your local training publishers for self-paced workbooks.
2. Conscript local experts or coaches to take the place of some training sessions.
If people have some knowledge and skills about the subject, identify one or two local experts in each area to act as a central point for all questions. Make sure that the experts and coaches you nominate have the required communication and interpersonal skills.
3. Cut training sessions that do not add value to the organization.
Does your organization really need that assertiveness skills training course? What tangible benefit did your organization achieve from it? Drop courses that do not show a demonstrable advantage to your organization. I’m not saying that these kinds of courses are never worthwhile. During difficult periods is the time to review whether they are of real benefit to your organization now.
4. Reduce participant contact time for face-to-face training.
If you outsource some of your training or hire outside contractors, trimming contact hours can save you direct costs. If you pay salaried in-house trainers, having participants spend less time away from their work will save on lost opportunity costs. Save upfront time by sending out preliminary materials for participants to review before they arrive. Save trailing time by placing job aids in the workplace, setting up on-the-job coaches or conscripting participants’ managers to oversee workplace assignments and exercises.
5. Review and rationalize your list of training suppliers.
Where you use more than one training vendor for a course or a range of courses, negotiate a better deal based on increased volume. A shorter list of suppliers also means that you are able to develop a better quality business relationship with each. For your other suppliers, use your best negotiating skills to drum down rates. Do your homework and shop around. In tough economic times, suppliers will be well tuned to not wanting to lose existing clients. If possible, do not compromise on quality.
6. Review material costs and printing practices.
Find a more cost-effective printing house and consider using recycled, lighter weight or less fancy paper. Print on both sides of the paper, if you are not doing so already, for all learner and trainer materials. Send out softcopy versions of learner materials, if at all possible.
7. Replace original graphics with stock images.
If you pay for the services of expensive graphic designers or spend a lot on licensing copyrighted graphics, consider using stock images. There are a number of free and low cost stock image websites available now with an expanding range of quality images.
8. Enroll employees on courses at local colleges and universities.
Some learning institutions provide high quality learning. Find out what is available in your locality and compare with your current offerings. Federal and state governments subsidize some courses provided by such institutions, making such courses very cost effective.
9. Relocate seminars held at off-site convention centers.
This option may not prove popular with the executive, but everyone needs to tighten their belts. You can save significant amounts on travel and accommodation by hosting the seminar more locally or in-house.
10. Demonstrate how your training courses help achieve solid organizational objectives.
Gather reliable and convincing data that shows how the achievement of course learning outcomes lead to real benefits to the organization. How exactly do your training programs contribute to lower error rates, more satisfied customers, higher turnover, or whatever it is that your executive team considers important? In some cases, you may need to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of a training program to prove bottom-line worth.
The suggestions above are not prioritized in any order. Which activities you focus on will, of course, depend on your circumstances. I do want to point out that the first nine suggestions above go along with the idea that everyone needs to tighten their belt in tough times and that the training function is not sacrosanct. When you are asked to cut costs, you and your training department will be more respected if you replace a “Yes, but …” response with a “Yes, and this is what we are doing about it.”
The final suggestion uses a different approach. It says that if you cut these training programs, the organization will actually lose money or some other much valued benefit. The two approaches, of course, are not mutually exclusive and can in fact work in tandem. And don’t forget, we don’t need to be in the middle of a financial meltdown to be asked to trim down our training expenditures. Keep the ten pointers above in your bottom drawer, ready for the next time your CEO comes to you with that pained looked on her face.
© Leslie Allan. All rights reserved.
10 Ways to Cut Your Training Budget - To learn more about this author, visit Leslie Allan'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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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan'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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