Cost-Cutting, Cut-backs, Right Sizing, Down Sizing, Budget Control, Budget Restructuring ...the works. Sound familiar?
If you aren't already enjoying a glass of nectar with St. Peters, you surely must have heard of or been involved in one of the above. Well, I don't have to tell you that no matter which term you keep your finger on, the context is the same: plug the leaks, save money!
Now what's the easiest way to save money for most organizations globally? Care to venture a guess?
If your answer was: stop/do away with Training & Development, BINGO! Give yourself a pat on the back!
Training & Development seemingly is one of the easiest areas for companies to 'mark-off' the list when it comes to deciding how to save money and rein in costs. While this seems like the most natural thing to do during times like these (Read: Times of Recession), many organizations are left playing 'catch-up' once normalcy returns.
This is because organizations which may have continued with skills augmentation exercises of their employees (they may have reduced training budgets but not done away with T&D altogether), never stop building up their people and hence, organizational capabilities, which puts them in a prime position to build quick in-roads into a healthy (but still a little shaky) market, thus creating critical Competitive Advantage.
So while most companies would be trying to 'resurface' by going on a shopping binge (Read: Recruitments) in order to meet the demands of an economy returning to normalcy, the organizations which have had the foresight to keep developing employee skills will most likely find that they don't necessarily have to wait for quantitative enhancements to their workforce. Rather, their qualitatively superior workforce will help them exploit (in a positive way) the market conditions optimally, while simultaneously shoring up their workforce numbers without sweating.
I came across this interesting article on The Wall Street Journal Online Edition by Dana Mattioli on how companies are renewing focus on training as they believe that managers and leaders with strong skills will help them move faster along the road to recovery. It's a good read and quite insightful.
Here it is:
Your thoughts on the topic would be appreciated.
Happy Reading!