L2L Group

Whether training is perceived as an investment or expenditure depends entirely on the individual’s point of view. However, it is generally accepted that training is an investment - which pays dividends, on a daily basis. Is this true? Let’s find out.

Training is an endeavour undertaken by a business to develop new skills or to enhance the existing ones in its primary staff. Training is more commonly provided to employees and managers, but it can be extended to customers and suppliers too. The ultimate aim of training is to facilitate a better understanding of the essential concepts in the employees so that they can actively participate in conducting the various activities in extended areas of the business enterprise.

There is always a delay experienced by a business between the time of investment in training and time when the benefits are realised. This delay varies in length depending on the type of investment and the actual scope of the training involved. Training is a long-term investment which will rarely pay off immediately; usually the real difference becomes apparent with time. The returns on training endeavours are not realized at any single point in time - they pay off daily, therefore they are regarded as “Dividends”.

Training dividends are not directly measured in monetary terms, but can be noticed in terms of:

1. Increased Productivity - By providing appropriate training, the productivity of the workforce can be increased, empowering employees to be able to set their own targets and achieve them in a timely manner.
2. Improved Communication and Participation - Training greatly helps in the improvement of communication among the staff members of an organization.
3. Waste Reduction - With training, the workforce is able to understand the effective ways of doing a particular task and the procedures for minimising any wasted time or materials in their activities.
4. Reduced Labour Turnover - Trained and empowered employees are satisfied with the work that they do. This in turn automatically improves the retention of the employees in the business and significantly increases the loyalty of the current ones.
5. Improved Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty - When a customer is satisfied with the products and services of a company - he becomes loyal, and for the foreseeable future he will also be a source of continuous revenue for the company.

So finally, we have found that training is definitely a dividend driving activity! If you want to ensure that healthy dividends are always realized from training, you should conduct every aspect of this training with a decisive aim in mind.