NFIB

Schooldays Again
03/ 27/ 2002

by Lisa Waddle

Even more than January, September has a fresh-start feel to it. The rhythms of the school calendar are ingrained long after graduation, stirring up thoughts of self-improvement.

When better to take a look at ways to help yourself and your employees be lifelong learners? Much has been written on the importance of training in attracting and retaining employees. Yet training is often the first thing jettisoned when it comes to the more pressing business of serving paying customers and running your company. After all, it seems obvious that landing that next big account is more vital to your company's bottom line than parking employees in a daylong seminar. But the equation is not that cut-and-dried.

Consider a recent study by the American Society for Training and Development, which showed a direct correlation between training and a company's bottom line. They found that businesses that invested $680 more in training per employee than what an average company spends, improved their total stockholder return by six percentage points the following year. The study focused on public companies, but the findings are relevant to small business owners who need further convincing that investing in training pays off.

The good news is that training no longer means a boring classroom, big time commitment or a huge chunk of your company's change. As small business owners in our cover feature show, successful learning depends more on targeting your employees' needs. And that's where you have an advantage, as you know individual staffers better than the CEO of a 1,000-employee corporation.

One final note: Don't let the current tightening of the economy provide another excuse to cut back on or put off investing in training. Slow times provide the perfect opportunity to step back and assess your employees'--and your own--skill needs. When things crank back up, you'll be ready--and stronger than ever.

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This article originally appeared in the September/October 2001 issue of MyBusiness Magazine, NFIB's member magazine.

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