Ensuring a Passing Grade for Training and Development

With what most people see as a looming recession ahead, too many managers view training as a luxury, not a competitive and strategic necessity. "What if we train our employees and they leave," they ask. Well, what if you don't train them and they stay?

Are you one of those managers who look at training as a nice-to-have instead of a must-have? Do you talk the talk, but when push comes to shove, training gets pushed aside? To assess your commitment to training, see how many of the following statements hit too close to home:

1. Training interrupts in getting a job done.
2. Training is fine as long as it doesn't take me or my staff away from "important" tasks that must get done.
3. I don’t recall the last time any member of my staff or I attended a training or self-improvement course.
4. I can't show you an upcoming schedule for my personal and staff training. In fact, my answer is generally, "What schedule?"
5. I look forward to training so I can catch up on my to-do list.
6. My company has no clearly articulated philosophy on the value of training. Even if they did, I wouldn't be able to produce a copy.
7. If we are forced to go to a training session, we almost never discuss the content in our staff meetings. Out of sight, out of mind — that's our philosophy.
8. There is no way to link our success to our investment in employee development.
9. When, and if, we get around to conducting performance reviews, we don't consider the completion of training important.
   

You've got a training problem if you’ve said yes to at least three statements. In today's business landscape, training is not just a matter of survival; it's what separates high performance organizations from those being fitted for a burial suit.