Businesses need to shift from training as a separate activity to
ongoing on-the-job learning.
The continued fall in unemployment remains one of the most
enigmatic features of the current economic slowdown and defies
previous experience. An analysis of training investment in the past
three years tells a similar story.
The latest Chartered Institute 0f Personnel and Development annual
training and development survey shows that UK organisations have
resisted the temptation to cut training budgets. And it is clear
that they have recognised that they can best sustain a recovery by
investing in people. They have hoarded labour and invested in
workforce skills.
So why is training so important? There is evidence that it improves
profitability, but how can we justify or sustain the cost when
budgets are being cut?
Learning through training, and other means, improves one's
knowledge and ability to do one's job, and in a knowledge-based
economy where the advent of knowledge sharing, team working and
flat structures is sweeping away the old order, the returns
provided by training and learning are at a premium.
The CIPD's research into the impact of people management on
business performance shows that HR practices have a bigger impact
on the bottom line than research and development. As well as
improving performance, training is recognised as one of the key
levers in improving innovation and customer service.
This can be more significant during a downturn, when low morale
affects productivity. As a growing component of our understanding
of how to improve productivity, investment in training shows that
employees are not just business fodder. It improves morale and
reduces stress levels and absenteeism.
But money is not the answer to everything. In the UK, organisations
seem to place too much emphasis on training and not enough on
learning. Too many companies adopt a "sheep-dip" approach to
training, which does not tune in to individual styles of learning.
Trainers must learn to customise and offer continuous
learning.
There needs to be a shift away from training as a separate activity
towards learning as part of continuous improvement, as well as
something the individual wants to do. Organisations must be more
flexible in delivery and content.
As more power is devolved to line managers, many are thrown in at
the deep end without adequate training. While obvious qualities,
such as leadership, should be covered in any training programme,
few organisations have responded to changes in the legal
environment by providing diversity training, for instance.
Provision does not filter down to all levels. Another CIPD study
reveals that less skilled employees are far more likely to take up
training, but it is more likely to be offered to better-educated
people in higher social classes. While it is important to recruit
and retain skilled staff, this should not be done to the detriment
of overall workforce productivity. So the challenge is clear: to
accelerate the transition from training to learning, to employees
at all levels.
Gerwyn Davies is a spokesman for the Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development