Training employees is smart business. But what if you are working for, or running, a small to mid-sized company that has no established employee training program? If you are spearheading this initiative, you will probably have a limited budget until you can prove the return on investment for training.
How do you get started, and how do you do you create effective training on a limited budget? At a minimum you will need the following for a successful training program:
- 01Executive Sponsor
- 02Training Plan – goals, topics and schedule
- 03Training Materials – slides, goals, tests
- 04Conduct Training – trainers and facilities
- 05Measure and Report Success
The first task is to get a sponsor, if you are not the sponsor and you will need to use resources from other departments this step is critical. While the other work can be delegated this first step is a prerequisite to moving forward and it is up to you to get this approval first.
Executive Sponsorship
Even if you are the sponsor the steps in obtaining approval will help you to identify your goals and how to measure your success. It will also help you in holding people accountable to committing to the project. Here are some basic guidelines for making your appeal to the executive sponsor in justifying the resources needed for the training.
- Why Train (intro or plea)
- Cost to Company Because of a lack of Training
- Cost to train
- How You Will Measure
- Estimated Time line
- Who/What You Need
- Projected Savings / Benefits (summary and call to action)
This should be a one-page memo or email in order to get the attention it deserves. With executives you need to keep it short and sweet. If they like what they see they will approve, if they have questions they will ask.
