importance of constantly changing, and the need for companies to continuously re-invent themselves in the global economy, but will put very little effort into what is required to do so.

Don’t let fear or budget constraints keep you from developing your team. Obtain formal training as appropriate. Encourage your team members to teach each other, and do some teaching yourself. A skilled team that retools frequently is more productive, and has a much better chance of keeping your company vibrant and

We all know the importance of training and developing our staff. It keeps team members motivated, generating increased productivity. They eagerly use their skills to the benefit of the business. So why is it that we continue to take short-cuts with training?

There are a couple of reasons. First, some fear training their employees. They don’t want to spend big money to train workers, only to see them quit and use their new skills to benefit a competitor.

In Stephen R. Covey book, The Speed of Trust, there is a quote from an unidentified CEO. Someone asked him, “What if you train everyone and they all leave?” He responded, “What if we don’t train them and they all stay?” Enough said.

Another reason companies don’t train people is the cost. Let’s face it, when times are tough and budget cuts loom, it’s very easy to drop employee training. Unfortunately, this short-term money saving tactic is extremely costly in the long run. It does a disservice to the people, lowering morale, and most importantly, it negatively impacts the company. Of course these negative impacts are not easily measured. They are not individual line items on an income statement like the training budget. Typically the manager that cuts training gets a bonus for making his/her numbers, and future dips in profit are rarely tied back to a lack of training. The cycle continues.

Training does not have to cost a fortune. Using the train-the-trainer method where a select few people attend a class and then train the rest of the team can be cheap and very effective. Peter Drucker stated, “Knowledge workers and services workers learn most when they teach.” Encouraging team members to teach others is a very effective training method and according to Covey it “accelerates the rate of learning, both individually and organizationally.”

Ironically, the same managers that put little to no effort into training are often the same that complain that there is a shortage of qualified labor. They will sound off about the importance of constantly changing, and the need for companies to continuously re-invent themselves in the global economy, but will put very little effort into what is required to do so.

Don’t let fear or budget constraints keep you from developing your team. Obtain formal training as appropriate. Encourage your team members to teach each other, and do some teaching yourself. A skilled team that retools frequently is more productive, and has a much better chance of keeping your company vibrant and p

of Trust, there is a quote from an unidentified CEO. Someone asked him, “What if you train everyone and they all leave?” He responded, “What if we don’t train them and they all stay?” Enough said.

Another reason companies don’t train people is the cost. Let’s face it, when times are tough and budget cuts loom, it’s very easy to drop employee training. Unfortunately, this short-term money saving tactic is extremely costly in the long run. It does a disservice to the people, lowering morale, and most importantly, it negatively impacts the company. Of course these negative impacts are not easily measured. They are not individual line items on an income statement like the training budget. Typically the manager that cuts training gets a bonus for making his/her numbers, and future dips in profit are rarely tied back to a lack of training. The cycle continues.

Training does not have to cost a fortune. Using the train-the-trainer method where a select few people attend a class and then train the rest of the team can be cheap and very effective. Peter Drucker stated, “Knowledge workers and services workers learn most when they teach.” Encouraging team members to teach others is a very effective training method and according to Covey it “accelerates the rate of learning, both individually and organizationally.”

Ironically, the same managers that put little to no effort into training are often the same that complain that there is a shortage of qualified labor. They will sound off about the importance of constantly changing, and the need for companies to continuously re-invent themselves in the global economy, but will put very little effort into what is required to do so.

Don’t let fear or budget constraints keep you from developing your team. Obtain formal training as appropriate. Encourage your team members to teach each other, and do some teaching yourself. A skilled team that retools frequently is more productive, and has a much better chance of keeping your company vibrant and

most importantly, it negatively impacts the company. Of course these negative impacts are not easily measured. They are not individual line items on an income statement like the training budget. Typically the manager that cuts training gets a bonus for making his/her numbers, and future dips in profit are rarely tied back to a lack of training. The cycle continues.

Training does not have to cost a fortune. Using the train-the-trainer method where a select few people attend a class and then train the rest of the team can be cheap and very effective. Peter Drucker stated, “Knowledge workers and services workers learn most when they teach.” Encouraging team members to teach others is a very effective training method and according to Covey it “accelerates the rate of learning, both individually and organizationally.”

Ironically, the same managers that put little to no effort into training are often the same that complain that there is a shortage of qualified labor. They will sound off about the importance of constantly changing, and the need for companies to continuously re-invent themselves in the global economy, but will put very little effort into what is required to do so.

Don’t let fear or budget constraints keep you from developing your team. Obtain formal training as appropriate. Encourage your team members to teach each other, and do some teaching yourself. A skilled team that retools frequently is more productive, and has a much better chance of keeping your company vibrant and

he rest of the team can be cheap and very effective. Peter Drucker stated, “Knowledge workers and services workers learn most when they teach.” Encouraging team members to teach others is a very effective training method and according to Covey it “accelerates the rate of learning, both individually and organizationally.”

Ironically, the same managers that put little to no effort into training are often the same that complain that there is a shortage of qualified labor. They will sound off about the importance of constantly changing, and the need for companies to continuously re-invent themselves in the global economy, but will put very little effort into what is required to do so.

Don’t let fear or budget constraints keep you from developing your team. Obtain formal training as appropriate. Encourage your team members to teach each other, and do some teaching yourself. A skilled team that retools frequently is more productive, and has a much better chance of keeping your company vibrant and

importance of constantly changing, and the need for companies to continuously re-invent themselves in the global economy, but will put very little effort into what is required to do so.

Don’t let fear or budget constraints keep you from developing your team. Obtain formal training as appropriate. Encourage your team members to teach each other, and do some teaching yourself. A skilled team that retools frequently is more productive, and has a much better chance of keeping your company vibrant and profitable well into the future.