In our last blog post, we shared some information from the latest Training Magazine, which reported that 65% of organizations had decreased their budget or experienced no budget change in 2012 from the year before. Of course, the converse of that fact is that 35% of organizations increased their training budgets in 2012. Let’s take a look at how small companies (100-999 employees) increased their training budgets this year.
According to the Training Magazine report, small companies grew their training budgets in the following ways:
- Growth of more than 25%: 17%
- Growth of 16% to 25%: 13%
- Growth of 6% to 15%: 37%
- Growth of 1% to 5%: 33%
The majority of training budget growth in 2012 was small, but even a 6% to 17% growth is significant in the world of training. A survey of all size businesses reveals that the vast majority of budgetary growth was in:
- Increasing Scope of Training (56%)
- Increasing Numbers of Learners Served (52%)
- Adding Training Staff (49%)
Below, you’ll find some effective ways that your small company can grow in 2013…
Increase the scope of your training to get ahead of your competitors in 2013. Training may be stagnant for some industries in 2013. So, while your competitors are cutting corners, know that now is the time for you to push your employees ahead. Look into online training options if your company doesn’t have the time or resources for weekend seminars or month-long courses.
Increase the number of learners served by bringing in a professional training group to deliver a series of brown bag lunch seminars. In order to maximize the effectiveness of these seminars, require employees to get into breakout groups to discuss the topic in terms of their own roles in the company.
Lastly, increase your training budget in 2013. Reduced training budgets may save money in 2013, but will hurt companies in the long run. Without training, employees fall behind in their skill sets, which results in overall depreciation of a company.
How will you train your employees in 2013? Are you increasing your budget or decreasing it?
