why you should be investing in staff

As the economic downturn deepens we are seeing a divide in the way businesses are tackling the issue of staff training. As some businesses seek to reduce costs the training budget is often an easy target, yet research has highlighted that companies who do invest in employee skills training will perform better in an economic downturn and be quicker to respond to the subsequent upturn.In October of this year, captains of industry, including CBI director General Richard Lambert and Marks & Spencer chairman Sir Stuart Rose, published an open letter in which they stated, "investing now in building new skills will put us in the strongest position as the economy recovers. From our experience inrevious downturns, it was the businesses that did invest in their staff that saw the most dynamic recovery."So why should you invest in staff training now?1. Training motivates the vast majority of people and can encourage them to remain with their employers. Just because the economy is suffering, don't be fooled into thinking that your best employees won't be looking elsewhere to further their careers if you have stopped growing.2. Maintaining investment in staff development sends the message that you value your employees and can see the merit in investing in them for the long-term. A visible cut in staff training, especially for businesses with a long-standing commitment to staff development, is likely to alienate staff or reinforce any concerns they have about job security.3. During these tougher times every customer counts. Front-line staff should be fully trained to deliver the best possible service to prevent valuable customers from straying. As people think harder about their purchases they will be less forgiving of any service mistakes.4. As weaker competitors collapse there will be big gaps in your market, if you are prepared, and your employees have the relevant skills, your business can capitalize on this and increase market share or even enter new markets.5. As HR teams focus primarily on those leaving the company, it is easy to oversee the needs of the remaining workforce. Many of these people will not only be worried about their own job security, but may also be asked to take on new roles and responsibilities often for which they are poorly equipped.6. As businesses slow or pause in their growth, remaining staff will undoubtedly have fewer opportunities for career progression. Staff may become tired of their job roles making them less efficient and enthusiastic. Training can alleviate any stagnation and help prepare staff for new roles in the economic upturn.In addition to this, businesses who fail to address the issue of training are 2.5 times more likely to fail during a downturn than those who invest, for companies who haven't invested in training over the last 12 months; this is a frightening figure indeed.With the Welsh Assembly pumping ?35 million into the ReAct Scheme to retrain 12,000 redundant workers, employers may be facing the prospect of new employees being better skilled than existing ones. Offering staff training now will not only refocus and motivate employees but drive new skills into the business at a time when they are needed most.

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