The Ever Increasing Importance of Training

It would be something of an understatement to say there is a lot of uncertainty in the UK these days. The 2014 Scottish referendum, The 2015 UK General Election, The 2016 Brexit Referendum, The 2017 UK General Election, you get the picture. In these times of economic hardship one of the first things slashed is the HR training budget. Seen as one of the first expendable expenses, this is often slashed over the likes of marketing, sales and R&D as companies struggle to immediately quantify the immediate benefit of employee training.

Replies such as try again in 6 month once things have picked up, or sounds great but we've no budget at the moment become commonplace as a nations workforce put training on the back burner so that firms can focus on more profitable operations. Is this the best way to operate in such times though? Two of the most important outcomes of employee training are improved employee performance and improved employee satisfaction (resulting in again, improved performance), There is an interesting study from Kim & Ployhart (2013, available here), exploring the relationship between profitability and staff training. What they discovered was that 'firms that more effectively staff and train will outperform competitors throughout all pre- and postrecessionary periods, even after controlling for prior profitability'.

With this is mind, perhaps firms are being too hasty cutting training costs. In uncertain times, why not invest in ensuring your workforce is equipped to outperform competitors giving you a vital advantage in a difficult climate. So whatever the industry, consider the benefits training your staff could have today, it make be the best investment you make all year.