Training is often the first item to be axed when looking for quick cuts, without looking at the long term impact on the company's ability to re-grow.

Given the light speed at which a lot of organizations move, making time for training seems hard for employers as well as employees. Yet, the same argument makes training a necessity to keep up with the rate of change in IT departments. Organizations are looking at a prolonged economic downturn, and IT leaders are feeling the pressure to cut costs while delivering the same or more value to the organization.

The situation is simply not sustainable as the cost cuts target the training that is necessary to help employees do their jobs as best as they can. Taking training out has a significant negative impact on morale, productivity, and hence the bottom line. Under the additional pressure of a downturn and the fear of downsizing, training is a great way of showing ongoing commitment and motivating employees to do their best.

The right training for the right employees can enable them to look at current best practices from a tactical perspective at just the right time. Corporate-mandated training is often viewed with skepticism by employees who see it as a waste of time, especially when they are pressured to be more productive due to layoffs. By contrast, employees that request specific training are highly motivated to fully participate in the training.

There is a huge array of training programs in the market for every skill set. It is important to ensure that training programs are tailored to the specific roles for which employees are responsible. Generic IT training or workshops might be valuable for career development or long-term development plans but when under pressure to deliver, focus on what is immediately relevant.

Training also provides a differentiator as an employer. With an IT staffing shortage, good IT professionals are still in demand, and one of the most valuable things an employee might look for is training and growth opportunities. It provides value to both the employee and employer. In addition, it reduces the chances that good employees will jump ship when the economy turns around. This allows the organization to ramp up quicker when the downturn ends, with an experienced and up to date staff.


Save the Training

In a recent survey, Safari Books Online (sells online subscriptions to specialized reference libraries and books) found that IT professionals spend as much as two hours each work day researching the Web for information they need to do their jobs. In addition, 45% of the respondents in the survey stated that they used information from the Web that they later found was inaccurate. Subsequently, 15% of those surveyed stated this led to bugs being introduced into the software that either delayed projects or forced them to re-work projects. While these statistics might be slightly skewed as the survey was commissioned by Safari Books Online, it does highlight the importance of providing the right training to employees to maximize productivity.

Professional training programs do not have to cost exorbitant amounts. While selecting a professional development training program, consider the following:

* Start with a clear objective. While employees or managers shop for programs it is important to start with a clear view of what skills are required before approaching vendors/institutions.
* Customize. Pick and chose selectively. If an institution does not offer customization, then move on to someone who does. Some institutions might be flexible enough to send instructors to the organization if there are enough registrants, which again saves time, money, and transportation costs.
* Validate the business case for training. For information on how to validate the value of training initiatives, refer to the McLean Report research note, "Prove the Value of Training Initiatives.

There are several other affordable means of supporting ongoing training for employees. Those employees who are good at self-directed learning can best take advantage of such opportunities.

* Utilize e-learning programs. These can be a fraction of the cost of a classroom environment. In addition, they save on travel expenses.
* Tap open university programs. Several major universities now offer materials for courses for free online. MITOpenCourseWare offers access to all their programs online.
* In-house library. Create a library of IT books employees can use at work or borrow.
* Encourage self-teaching. Reimburse staff for IT textbooks.

Shutting down training budgets all together can bring down employee morale very quickly. Even under a tight budget it pays to find economical ways to keep training alive.

For ways to boost morale during tough economic times refer to the McLean Report note, "Discount Morale Boosters for an Economic Downturn.


Bottom Line
With an economic downturn underway, IT departments are looking for ways to cut costs fast. Unfortunately, one of the first items to go is training. Info-Tech recommends finding economical ways to fit training into a tight budget instead of cutting training all together.