No training budget? No problem.

This week I continue to explore learning and development. In particular, putting together learning and development plans that don’t cost much, if anything. It’s not uncommon for businesses to have little, if any, training budget, particularly in these ‘tough economic times’. I don’t like the term ‘tough economic times’ myself. It’s flouted as an excuse for why something cannot be done when it's really an opportunity to come up with better, smarter, more efficient and less costly ways of doing things. This also applies to learning and development.

Employers can support the development of their employees without sucking the budget dry. I propose a list of five options for consideration as part of anyone’s learning and development plan.

Firstly, mentoring and coaching are great ways to develop people. If you’re a manager then you can coach members of your team, or, get someone in senior management to coach one of your team members. If you don’t have a formal program in place, what is stopping you organizing something informally? Have a look at John Whitmore’s book 'Coaching for Performance' for some guidance on how to coach, and just get practicing.

Secondly, books, you tube, wikipedia, forums, just to name a few. I’ve written whole training programs using just what I can scrounge from a lot of free resources. If you don’t have a library card then get one. You’ll be surprised how many business books your local library stocks (well in New Zealand anyway). Read up on the subject that interests you, make an action plan of what you’ve learnt and what you’re going to apply. Even writing a review of the material you’ve found helps you to reflect on, and apply, what you’ve learnt.

Thirdly, get involved. Put your hand up for a project or some different work, even if it’s in a different area. It makes your workday more interesting by adding variety and challenge. You’ll also be surprised by how much you can learn from the people you work with on projects. It also shows you’re willing to help out where needed, good marks for promotion opportunities.

Fourthly, get involved in a professional group. A lot of professions these days have groups of likeminded individuals who meet on a regular basis, organize seminars and professional development opportunities. Yes, you do usually have to pay a membership fee but it is not typically onerous. Some groups you can also volunteer for their organizing committees. These groups provide great networking and knowledge sharing opportunities.

Lastly, go on a training course. Yes, these are the ones that cost money and are usually the first option that people gravitate towards with an attitude of “I’ll go on this course and it will fix all my problems”. They do add value and are worthwhile, however with conditions. If you are going to invest in a course then make sure that the return on investment (ROI) is pre-determined and realized.  What I mean by that is that whatever is being learnt on that course needs to be applied and measured in the workplace. These measurements should be set before the person goes on the course. For example, if you send someone on a project management course then what improvements do you expect to see in the work place after they’ve attended the course, and actually follow up on that. Otherwise it’s a bit of a waste of time (unless it’s for their personal development, but that’s a different story – see last weeks blog).

So don’t let ‘tough economic times’ become an excuse to not develop or be developed. You just need to think outside the box a bit and make sure that any investment into training is realized.