Can We Afford to Suspend Training in Our Organisations?

With the credit crunch and current downturn in the economy, the greatest temptation is to pull in our belts, cut back on our spending, save what we can and try to weather the storm.

Unfortunately, life in the turbulent waters continues for everyone and some will successfully ride that storm whilst others will capsize, sink and drown.

Can we predict who will survive?

In all honesty, probably not BUT we can say who has the best chance of survival.

The survivors are those who will become creative with their time, their staff, their talents, their money, their business practice and more. They will see new ways of doing things, identify new niches, identify staff who can perform new roles and new tasks and create strategies that will enable them to negotiate the obstacles and steer towards fertile fishing grounds.

But in order to do this, there is still the need to train staff, not only for now but also for the future. Failure to do so will lead to inertia and a lag-phase before they can take full advantage of the new scene. Failure to do so will allow others in to steal the goods and opportunities.

Planning for the future involves taking steps now. Training is a key part of the success strategy and planning process. And it needn’t cost very much, especially if companies learn how to look within themselves for the talent they need. Part of that process involves a reorientation to find out what talents lie within that are currently hidden and capitalising on those to help on the road to the future.

Perhaps it’s time to stop looking outward for talent and look for help that will enable us to discover the talent we already have. With so many current recommendations NOT to cut back on training, can we afford to ignore the calls?