“In tough economic times, you must cut advertising, reduce marketing, and decrease or even eliminate training to reduce expenses.”
I was going to say that the above strategy has emerged as a growing trend in many industries. That would be inaccurate. It’s almost become an axiom for many organizations. (AXIOM: In traditional logic, an axiom is a proposition that is not proved or demonstrated but considered to be self-evident. Therefore, its truth is taken for granted and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring other truths.)
I must admit it’s a somewhat uncomplicated strategy and takes little or no effort to execute. It does appear to produce immediate savings at first glance but has produced very little evidence of success as a long-term strategy.
In fact, many studies have produced results contradicting this long-time belief. Consistently, successful organizations across industries have actually increased their focus and investment in advertising, marketing, and training as economic pressures increased.
Considering today’s very competitive global marketplace and the many growing challenges we must deal with during this election year, what would you be willing to pay if you knew you could:
- increase productivity
- increase profitability
- increase employee satisfaction
- improve internal customer service
- improve external customer service
- increase sales and service levels
- reduce the number of customer complaints
- increase employee feedback
- reduce absenteeism
- decrease the need for supervision
- boost personal confidence and job satisfaction
- increase creativity and innovation levels
- cause employees to feel valued, appreciated and committed to your business with everyone in your organization on the same page at the same time utilizing corporate strategies to achieve organizational goals.
All of the above results can be classified as ROI (Return on Investment) or ROL (Return on Learning). Research reveals that proper staff training, at every level, can achieve all of the above. You must first realize that there is no cost involved. It’s obviously an investment … in your people, your organization, and your future success.
We have discovered, time and time again, that successful organizations simply share the same message of strategy and direction with every level of the organization.
A recent Franklin-Covey survey discovered that most employees who leave their job cite the lack of skills training and development as the number one reason they decide to move on. No way to learn, no reason to stay. It’s that simple.
Which brings us back to the main point: employee training and development is vital to your business success. It increases your bottom line—and reduces staff turnover.
About Harry K. Jones
Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.