Training and Development in an Economic Recession

We’re not out of the woods yet. The economic outlook for the foreseeable future in our country shows businesses will continue to cut costs and make tough choices in order to survive and stay competitive. While the belt tightening continues so too will the temptation to cut training budgets or eliminate them all together.

More than a year ago, I wrote a post on how cutting training during a down economy is not a smart move. What was said then is still true today, or any time for that matter. A well-coached, well-trained employee armed with knowledge can excel for for any company when competitors or companies in related industries are dropping their programs all together.

Good training that is objective and performance-based will empower employees to perform to expectations, supporting defined business goals and objectives. When the economy is down, training is more important than ever. Layoffs and job restructuring shift new duties and tasks to those remaining in an organization’s workforce. That alone prompts evaluation of current training programs and new training needs that must be met. Times like these are an opportunity to ensure that the existing workforce still engages and continues to work toward meeting an organization’s goals.

Any redesign or reassessment of training programs should be based current business objectives. Before the urge to cut training programs take hold, think about which training programs work and are effective for your organization. Do they produce the intended results? What knowledge, skills and behaviors needed for top performance out of any employee are present in the current training programs? Find ways to evaluate the current training programs by measuring and quantifying results that tie back to the organization’s business objectives.

Despite the negative impact of economic downturns on our businesses, somewhere within the challenges we face are opportunities for creativity and new solutions to emerge. Training is one of them. There are many alternative methods in presenting training to support your business that are efficient and cost effective, such as e-learning. Many of the resources at the disposal of most companies can be leveraged to provide learning experiences that keep your workforce active and engaged in staying productive to emerge from the recession we are currently in.

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