Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Traditionally most small businesses do not tend to offer their staff any form of formal training. The reason why is quite simple; they do not have the funds or the resources to be able to do so. Nevertheless, many small companies are seeing the need for training, both in terms of corporate growth and holding onto their key employees. Thus they are compromising via reallocating their budget or looking for ways to increase it. This means that they can offer bite-sized affordable training courses to their current members of staff. But why are SMEs suddenly so eager to invest in training their employees?
First of all, let’s think about this in the eye of the employee. They are going to feel much more confident about doing their job if they have received the proper training for the role. Not only this but providing training is imperative in ensuring that you keep hold of your best members of staff. If you don’t provide educational opportunities then they are never going to feel like they have a chance of moving up the career ladder within your company or bettering themselves. Thus, they will seek somewhere else i.e. a company who presents them with this opportunity. Whether you offer managed IT services or accounting, training is a must.
No one is denying the fact that training can be expensive for SMEs, especially when they cannot avoid the high costs of e.g. getting professionals to give on-site training, however, there are ways you can generate an ROI. In industries whereby employees have individual billing rates, they can increase the price they charge if they achieve more qualifications and certificates. This will consequently lead to increased revenue for the firm itself. Just think of the money you will save by holding onto your employees alone. After all, replacing members of staff can be a costly process in itself, evading this means you eliminate excess costs and hassle.
You should also bear in mind the fact that the world of business is definitely changing at present. The environment is more competitive with increased attention placed on global trading. Furthermore, organisational working practices have seen a decrease in the number of staff utilized yet an increase in the skills required from them as they set about to perform a diverse set of tasks. This seems to be the recipe for success. However, in order for this to be the case, staff need to be trained in order to improve efficiency, knowledge and skills. Furthermore, if you combine this with the loyalty you will generate through the earlier point regarding keeping your staff satisfied, then you are going to benefit from a workforce that not only has the skills to succeed but is also committed too. Consequently, you will not only have a much higher chance of survival but growth and progression will be within reach.
When you take everything into account it is not hard to see why more and more SMEs are investing in training. Of course, this should be done to the extent that your budget will allow. Nonetheless, if you were to completely disregard training then this is only going to lead to your company falling behind the competition in your field, which is obviously the last thing you want to occur.