Continuing from yesterday’s post, here are more details about how to make sure your training budget, programs, and initiatives remain intact if your organization starts downsizing.
Provide a Market Analysis for Your Existing Talent Pool
Millions of jobs go unfilled every year because the right talent isn’t on the market and because organizations aren’t training and developing their existing talent appropriately. But if an organization can keep training programs that attract, develop, and retain the right talent, it will be able to sustain a real competitive advantage in its marketplace.
If you really want to prove the value of your training programs, provide your organization’s executive team with an in-depth market analysis of your organization’s talent pool. Show them how your organization’s talent outshines the rest of the talent in your marketplace and how it keeps your organization competitive because you train and retain your talent effectively via your developed programs.
Reveal How Your Training Initiatives Have a Direct Impact on the Bottom Line
If your learning and development (L&D) and training programs are directly tied to your organization’s goals and objectives (refer to yesterday’s post), it will be much easier to reveal their direct impact on your organization’s bottom line.
For instance, you’ll be able to prove how your customer service training program resulted in a smaller number of unsatisfied customers and returned shipments and refunds on orders that were already fulfilled. And you’ll be able to prove that your unconscious bias training resulted in fewer employees calling out sick or taking personal days and higher rates of employee productivity, and so on.
Involve the C-Suite in the Development and Execution of Larger Programs
One of the best ways to ensure your training programs are always valued and never viewed as easily expendable is to involve the C-suite and upper management in their development and execution. If they’re directly involved in developing training programs and have a direct stake and input in your training programs, they’re much less likely to dismiss them or get rid of them.
Or, it will at least be a lot harder for them to do so. They won’t want to get rid of programs they’ve spent time, money, and energy in developing themselves. (Read Part 1 and Part 2 of “How to Sell Your L&D Programs to the C-Suite” for more details.)
Always Keep Your Programs and Initiatives Top of Mind and Promote Them
It should go without saying that no one will ever value a training program that he or she doesn’t even know exists and that no one ever talks about … until it’s time to cut costs.
Above all else, it’s important to remember that your training programs should always and consistently be top of mind and promoted across your organization if you want them to retain their value on an ongoing basis. The more often they’re promoted, the more employees and managers will participate in them and be aware that they exist and understand their importance.
Keep the tactics listed above and in yesterday’s post in mind if your organization starts downsizing to ensure your training budget isn’t the first thing to go.