Training your staff on a tight budget

In my article last month I emphasized the importance training and development has for employees (and managers alike) and summarised some points to consider when implementing your training and development strategy. Easier to be said than done, you may say. A recent publication by People 1st shows the average spending on training in the hospitality industry is about £2,500 per person trained, which is roughly in line with the UK average of £2,550 per person trained. However, this figure is the amount spent – according to another report, only 24% of hospitality employers had a training budget in 2011.

These training expenditures may sound hefty, especially for smaller businesses. However, if you do not provide your staff and managers with training and development opportunities, their performance will not be optimal and there is a good chance they will leave for another employer who offers a better growth opportunity. Therefore, it is fairly clear that you as an employer must allocate some budget for training and manage it effectively. If you cannot manage your training budget successfully, then training will be unproductive and ineffective.

Training on a tight budget

Unless you are in a good financial position, you may not be able to allocate a large portion of funds to training – in fact, if you are in a good financial position, the chance is you have invested in training already. When funds are low, you may not be able to book a nationally known trainer or send your entire staff to a conference, but you can get effective and affordable training if you plan well, become creative, and reinforce the training you have already invested in.

First, the most important task when looking for training is making sure the “shoe” fits before purchasing. Determine your goals for the training process and then find the best methods for reaching these goals. Training is a highly visible investment in your human capital, so guiding your efforts in the right direction is imperative. When faced with a critical training decision, consider the following:

1. What skill gaps have been identified by your key personnel?
2. Do your employees indicate any areas of need?
3. Does your customer feedback process indicate any product quality or service deficiencies?
4. If the training is considered entertaining, is it also effective? Your employees may have enjoyed sessions in the past, but did these sessions really address the areas in need of improvement?
5. Does the training enable participants to hear /read about what’s being taught, see it demonstrated, actually practice (do) the skill, and then review (reinforce) the information, both in the classroom and back in the workplace?

Once you have set your training goals and identified a right-fit resource, you must then address the issue of budget.

Cost-saving strategies

Achieve economy of scale: One strategy to use when trying to book facilitators or buy training materials (e.g. DVD) is to combine your efforts with another department or other local businesses to achieve an economy of scale. When several departments or local businesses share the cost, the resource can be acquired for a much lower investment.

Offer something of value to the trainer: Another cost-saving strategy is to offer something of value, such as hotel room-nights, air travel, or gift certificates, in exchange for a lower fee for a training service. Sometimes, this is an option that a trainer may take into consideration when negotiating a fee.

Consider online training: When researching training resources, consider self-paced sessions, especially the increasingly popular online training method. It is not necessarily a replacement for classroom training, but it is flexible, effective, and economical. When you are continually hiring employees and when they need immediate training, this is a great option. In addition, buying online training in volume can result in good discounts.

Volunteer at conferences: Most trade shows are free to attend if you pre-register, but conferences can be expensive. Consider volunteering as a viable option. Many conferences offer a free day, a reduced fee, or full registration to participants who volunteer to assist in the running of the conference. This helps reduce your budget and offers the attendee(s) a unique networking opportunity. Also, after an employee returns from a conference, make it a requirement that he or she do a presentation to the team members who did not attend. In addition to distributing the new knowledge, this process is also a great review technique and reinforcement for the attendee.

Importance of review and reinforcement

And finally, with regard to reinforcement, this is where your training can either be an incredibly smart investment or another useless “program of the year”. The review needs to go beyond the meeting room, be integrated into everyday behaviours back at the workplace, and be reinforced on a continuous basis. Whether the reinforcement is achieved daily in staff meetings, or in one-on-one communications, it is the key to making your training part of your culture. Encourage employees to become involved in developing ways to keep the training alive. And don’t forget to incorporate the concepts learned into written communications too.

Now that we have looked at how to evaluate training requirements and how to implement a training strategy, my next article will discuss how you can evaluate the effectiveness of your staff training efforts.

About the author

Yukari Iguchi is the Academic Lead, Hospitality and Leisure at the University of Derby Online Learning (UDOL). Yukari has worked in various sectors within the hospitality industry, including hotels, restaurants, bars and theme parks in Japan, Switzerland and the UK.

Since 2012 Yukari joined UDOL to share her knowledge of the hospitality sector with others. During her academic career Yukari also performed a range of roles including Programme Leader for undergraduate hospitality programmes, International Student Coordinator, International Collaborative Project Manager, and Online and Distance Learning Coordinator.

For more information about UDOL, go to: www.derby.ac.uk/online/home-page