Cutting employee costs in a recession

News: September 2011

Cutting employee costs in a recession

As businesses further tighten the purse strings the likelihood of training budgets being cut increases. However, employees still need to learn new skills and keep up to date in order to realise their full potential. As such here are a few ways to reduce your training spend without neglecting training entirely.

Use online training courses
The availability of online training courses has increased and you can now use these courses to train staff on anything from computer software packages to money laundering. Online training is generally cheaper than getting a trainer on site and your business won’t suffer – since staff don’t need to visit a training session of site – instead they can do it at their computer in the office. Whichever online training provider you use, ensure that they provide a certificate upon completion of the course for your staff training records. While eLearning offers other benefits as well, the cost savings alone can make it worth your while to find online courses that will meet your business’s training needs.

Cut all unnecessary training
Many businesses waste money on unnecessary training. For example, an experienced sales manager most likely won’t need a sales training course if they have been competent in the role for the last 10 years. Equally, time management or personal effectiveness courses may not be necessary for experienced staff and your business can save money by allowing these staff members to opt out of such training.

In-house training
If you have some experienced employees your business can achieve cost savings by allowing the experienced staff to train in any new recruits rather than sending the new staff on a training course. This will also help your new staff to develop good rapport with their new colleagues and they will become more aware of the prevailing corporate culture within your business. In order to support in-house training you can develop handouts, tip sheets and reference materials that staff can refer to in the future.