Establish a training budget

This article first appeared August 18, 2011.

There are two things businesses always say they love – their people and innovation. But here’s a challenge: Look at your budgets for the next year and tell me where this “love” is highlighted.

If you are serious about innovation and training, both should have separate budget lines. That is, you should be able to tell me exactly how you much you plan to spend on research and development and training this year.

Can’t do it? This money is hidden in other lines? Well, your passion is a bit weak, isn’t it?

Establishing a separate training budget is a great idea for a number of reasons:

• It actually forces you to think about regular training for your staff and for yourself.
• It shows to everyone in the company how serious you are about training.
• It’s a great talking point in reviews. Offering staff training is a great incentive.
• It’s a great talking point in recruitment.

The training budget doesn’t have to be big, but it does need its own place in your overall budget.

Get it done – today!