Companies with IT budgets squeezed to the limit are continuing
to spend on training their staff, but with a new approach to
getting the highest return on investment.
Most companies like to boast about how heavily they invest in their
workforce. But when the economic downturn begins to bite, training
has traditionally been one of the first things to go.
However, disregarding training as essential expenditure may be a
false economy, and there are a range of options for companies
wishing to maintain training through hard times.
According to analyst firm Ovum Holway, the IT training market
declined by 15% in 2002 and is set to fall by 7% this year. The
trend over the past few years for firms to delay or scale-back new
IT projects has also given organisations an excuse not to train IT
staff in new skills.
"IT training is pretty much the worst area of the IT market. It has
been hit hardest by the downturn as it is a discretionary spend,"
said Heather Brice, an analyst at Ovum Holway.
However, there comes a point where budgets cannot be squeezed any
further and employees' skills have to be updated. Gartner has said
that "best-in-class" companies have continued to spend between 7%
and 10% of their IT payroll on training staff.
Some companies believe investment in IT training can help the
bottom line. Last month, insurance firm Norwich Union said it had
saved millions of pounds by using a government-backed framework for
managing IT staff skills.
The training programme, the Skills Framework for the Information
Age (SFIA), helps employers assess the skills of their IT staff and
plan training to meet future needs.
Gary Cannon, people development manager at Norwich Union Life and
Pensions, said SFIA was implemented as part of a big change
programme. "It allowed us to significantly reduce our reliance on
contractors, helped us save millions of pounds and a lot of time
and effort," he said.
Ron McLaren, operations manager for the SFIA Foundation, said the
framework focuses on the career development of staff and not solely
on ad hoc training. "There are certain things that can be easily
and efficiently delivered through training, such as getting started
on Windows," he said.
However, he said that the majority of what people can learn in
their jobs is not covered on a course. "Development is a neglected
part of the human resources picture," he said. "What you do on a
job and getting the right assignment accounts for 90% of the
learning curve."
Organisations should have somebody responsible for training and
career development and IT directors should work closely with human
resources departments to develop training and career development,
training experts have advised.
Suppliers of IT training usually offer a mixture of classroom -
including role playing and workshops - and online learning. New
developments such as online chatrooms allow staff doing the same
training course in different locations to exchange ideas and
experiences.
In addition to traditional training programmes in technical skills,
such as programming languages, suppliers have begun to train IT
staff in business skills such as team leadership and sales.
One company that is concentrating on developing the business and
managerial talents of its IT teams, in addition to their pure
technical skills, is HBOS. Jane Edwards, learning and development
manager at HBOS, said, "In the past, IT people spent most, if not
all, of their training budget on technical skills. Our job has been
to advance management skills.
"We are shifting the focus of the IT professional from being a
service provider to someone who can negotiate and influence the
business."
The new approach to training has already paid off, according to
Edwards, who said the IT department for its retail banking business
was now able to develop new products and services faster.
Other factors have been addressed since the programme started,
including gauging a return on investment. Edwards has implemented
simple procedures to test IT staff skills before, just after, and a
further three months after the training was received.
The shift in skills that the new focus has achieved has not cost
HBOS any extra investment in its £2m training budget for its
2,000-strong IT department, said Edwards.
The way companies are delivering their courses is also being
scrutinised, such as using e-learning for technical skills
courses.
Eddie Kilkenny, training services director at supplier Parity,
predicted that e-learning will become more pervasive. "In response
to the economic climate, everyone is looking for the greatest
throughput of training in the shortest time for the lowest cost,"
he said.
However, should cost become the driver for companies, there is a
danger learning will not take place at all, Kilkenny said. "Some
organisations expect employees to do training at their usual desk,
which carries the risk of disturbance and disruption.
"In the worst case, some clients are saying, 'do it in your own
time - and if you do not make the grade, there is a
problem'."
But companies tempted to cut corners on IT training should think
again, said Mingay. He said there is a direct correlation between
the ability to respond flexibly to new challenges and investment in
IT skills.
But he warned IT directors that a good training programme should be
about more than just the occasional training course.
"If you train your staff in the latest technology, whether that is
Java or mobile applications, make sure you give them the
opportunity to use it - and quickly - otherwise they will look
elsewhere."
Top training tips for IT directors
- Consider using a pre-defined system for training such as the
government-backed Skills Framework for the Information
Age
- Develop a culture with continuous learning rather than one big
bash that requires lots of spending to deliver a project
- Look to the human resources department for help with non-IT
courses and programmes
- You can only measure real return on investment by assessing
improvements to staff performance, so training has to be built into
appraisal systems.