CEO IT Training and Solutions
STAFF TRAINING PAYS FOR ITSELF OVER AND OVER = RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) x 2
One of the common assertions many companies make is "our people are our most valuable asset" often just fancy words with little or no commitment...
While many Managers and CEOs may gush over high performing employees, month to month, research continually shows most don't make their people a priority.
Study after study reveals that when Managers and CEOs are asked to identify their top priorities in running a business, developing their people rarely places in the top five or six. These company heads routinely identify increasing sales, cutting expenses, research and development and other priorities, yet fail to realize that it's their people who accomplish all of these things.
I've been in IT education and training for two decades, and without question, the most commonly overlooked avenue to increase sales - but commonly the most effective - is a company's decision to invest in professional training of its greatest asset - its people.
It's puzzling how many companies are willing to invest in their infrastructure but don't view their staff the same way.
Manufacturing companies are willing to invest in their machines and finance-driven companies invest in new software, but few companies see their people as an asset worthy of investing in. However, with education and training a company's greatest asset - its people - can yield outstanding results. A worthy example to consider can be found in the career progression of one of our training graduates.
Several years ago, one of our training graduates began working at a retail store (if you've had any experience in a retail environment, you know that staff turnover is often very high) yet he was almost immediately promoted to IT manager.
Soon thereafter, he convinced the company's Chief Information Officer (CIO) to attend a CEO Microsoft Exchange and Windows Server workshop. The results were outstanding. Two years later they started their own business. Within one year the company had $2 million in sales and within five years there were six stores with $5 million in sales and 30-40 percent of the market.
Taking a CIO and providing them the benefits and knowledge they need to make a well informed decision is a rare combination. Doing so helped this company dramatically reduce turnover and helped it develop a reputation for providing its staff with the best possible IT training and solutions. Consequently, management never had to advertise for staff as they had a waiting list of candidates hoping to come aboard due to their desire to be professionally trained and developed.
THE COST OF NOT TRAINING...
Does all training guarantee similar results? Of course not, however, the decision not to invest in training does not have positive profit margin guarantees either, yet so many companies fall into the trap of focusing only on the initial cash outlay for IT training without regard for the costs they're incurring by not doing so.
For example, I know of one executive whose company spends $150,000 annually alone just for classified advertising seeking salespeople. The company's turnover is very high but they never have the money to invest in training. Does this make sense?
What management is missing or overlooking are all the hidden costs associated with turnover that dwarf training fees. Costs that can't all be listed on a balance sheet. Costs such as, lost productivity due to an open position, lost sales, client dissatisfaction resulting from missed deadlines, slow response times regarding orders, increased burden on, and lowered morale of, remaining employees - the list goes on and on.
And the overt costs of turnover are obvious. It can easily cost more than $100,000 to replace a manager or professional when all of the underlying costs of replacing an employee are considered such as: advertising, interviewing, travel, relocation, severance pay, ramp-up periods, new hire processing etc.
Yet company after company continue to claim they can't afford training in the face of the overwhelming evidence supporting its ROI - evidence such as Motorola's estimate that the company receives a 30-to-1 return for every dollar invested in employee training and Harvard University studies revealed a company's surest way to profits and productivity is to treat employees as assets to be developed.
When contemplating the decision to train their people, companies would be wise to consider the benefits beyond the dollars required. Benefits such as improved morale, greater job satisfaction, increased loyalty, reduced turnover, effective teamwork, increased knowledge and skills, increased sales and increased profits.
More than anything a company's employees are its greatest assets and staff training is an investment!
National Sales Manager
CEO Education and Training
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