Training and
development are important for all businesses and are particularly critical for
small organizations. Experienced, competent people contribute to both the
productivity and profitability of the company. Remaining competitive depends in
large measure on ensuring that your workforce is trained and up to date with
ever-changing skills and knowledge, especially in today’s global economy, in
which keeping up with new methods is so important. Despite the clear need to
keep employees current,
small organizations often show a reluctance to train. This can be due to cost
or the desire not to have people away from their job for any length of time.
While training and
development can be expensive—anywhere from $200 to $1,000
per day—it is still considered worthwhile in terms of achieving the long-term
benefits of the company and the individual. Training expenses accrue not only
from the actual cost of providing on- or off-the-job training, but also from
loss of productivity while employees are away being trained. Nonetheless, it is
still necessary to provide this training; otherwise, companies discover how
easy it is to fall behind both in terms of competence and meeting customers’
needs.
There is another
component to this reluctance, however. Many companies fear that if their
employees are too well trained, they will move to another employer that pays
more or offers other opportunities. In order to overcome this, some companies
will train an employee so that he or she can be promoted to the next level
within the organization and will want to stay with it.