In the relentless drive to trim expenses and optimize profits, training budgets are often the first on the chopping block. The rationale seems straightforward: why assign resources to training when there are pressing needs that promise immediate returns? However, this perspective is risky. Skimping on training can cost companies more in the long run, both in tangible expenses and intangible losses, such as reduced employee morale and productivity.
So, why are training budgets often the least prioritized? One reason is the difficulty in immediately measuring the tangible impact of training initiatives. Unlike direct investments in technology or infrastructure, the return on training manifests over time, making it harder to quantify. Budgeting requires a detailed allocation of resources. Every penny counts, and every decision is weighed against potential returns. Immediate needs are prioritized first.
But here's the catch: investing in workforce training delivers true competitive advantages. Utilizing microlearning and AI, DeepHow enables personalized training content that evolves with employees' needs.
This scalable and cost-effective approach drives productivity, engagement, knowledge retention, and other metrics directly impacting the bottom line. Workforce training is not a cost center - it's a revenue driver and should be treated as such in the budgeting process. In fact, companies that invest in training programs see a 24% increase in profits or more. It's clear that workforce training isn't just a budget line item but a crucial strategic need.
The Inherent Value of Investing in Workforce Training
Workforce training is an investment that pays dividends. When employees are equipped with the right skills and knowledge, they don't just perform tasks; they excel in them. Engaged and well-trained employees not only stay longer but also become brand ambassadors, leading to enhanced retention and positive word of mouth. On the other hand, failing to provide proper and thorough training can result in expensive mistakes. The result? Low productivity and staggering costs of high turnover, which average 20% of an employee's annual salary.
A positive culture, the backbone of any organization, is nurtured through ongoing workforce training. These core capabilities and guiding principles become ingrained in employees.
For new skilled trade hires, comprehensive onboarding is key. An effective training program allows them to develop the technical abilities to meet quality standards quickly. It also immerses them into the workplace culture, ensuring they incorporate the organization's values in each process. Studies prove it: companies investing in robust onboarding see shop floor productivity rise by 70% and first-year retention of skilled workers improve by over 50%.
The business environment is in constant flux. As technology evolves and disrupts, ongoing training reduces skills gaps, ensuring employees are always ahead of the curve. This proactiveness isn't just good for the workforce; it's good for the bottom line. A competent, up-to-date team propels business growth, better products and services, and improved customer experiences.
Unearthing the Hidden Costs of On-the-Job Training
In skilled trades organizations, hands-on, on-the-job training, where employees learn the ropes directly in their work environment, is the most prevalent approach. While invaluable for imparting practical skills, this method carries its own set of costs.
The immediate costs are discernible: the time invested by senior employees to mentor the newcomers, potential slowdowns in productivity, and loss of resources as novices learn and make inevitable mistakes. But, as we illustrated in our recent exploration of the hidden costs of hiring, there's always more beneath the surface.
The indirect costs of on-the-job training can be stealthy but significant. While there isn't a conventional 'venue' or external 'instructor' to pay, taking experienced personnel to train newcomers diverts them from their primary tasks. Employees spend an average of 25 hours per year in internal training, leading to substantial opportunity costs from lost productivity.
Beyond these, there are the intangible costs. On-the-job training's effectiveness largely hinges on the trainer's consistency and the relevancy of their knowledge. If a seasoned worker is unaware of the latest techniques or best practices, they might inadvertently pass on outdated or suboptimal methods to the trainee. The result? A workforce that might need to catch up in modern practices, potentially leading to inefficiencies or missed opportunities in a competitive marketplace. In fact, only 12% of employees apply skills learned via informal on-the-job training to their actual work.
Understanding the full gamut of obvious and hidden costs is vital. While on-the-job training for skilled labor is essential, recognizing its comprehensive impact ensures businesses make informed, effective training decisions.
Where DeepHow Provides Unmatched Value
As we enter a new year and reevaluate budgets, it's the optimal time to reassess workforce training strategies. Instead of viewing training as a line-item expense, reframing it as an investment in employees illustrates its immense ROI. This mindset shift allows businesses to distribute resources to solutions that drive real impact, like DeepHow.
- DeepHow's Approach: Unlike traditional methods, DeepHow seamlessly integrates into the modern workforce's training cadence, delivering transformative value in several critical areas:
- Goal-Aligned Workflows: DeepHow facilitates the creation of training content that directly aligns with company goals.
- Cost Efficiency: Say goodbye to costs associated with individual hands-on training and removing your SME from their tasks. DeepHow optimizes on-demand training costs without compromising on quality or impact.
- Global Scalability: Whether your team is in one city or scattered across continents, DeepHow scales effortlessly, accommodating diverse languages and cultural nuances.
- Standardization: DeepHow enables a consistent training experience that supports uniform content delivery. This empowers organizations to minimize variations and ensure that knowledge is distributed to all employees, regardless of their location.
- Fostering Knowledge Sharing: Beyond just training, DeepHow paves the way for mentorship and collaborative learning, ensuring a continuous cycle of knowledge transfer.
- Real-Time Updates & Adaptability: With DeepHow, editing, and republishing training materials becomes effortless. Your content remains current and relevant, allowing for easy modifications and immediate distribution whenever needed.
- Analytics: Track progress with insights showing who's learning what, and gauge the progression of your entire team or individual employees.
As you realign budgets for the new year, it's vital to make workforce training an investment priority. With solutions this transformative, DeepHow ceases to be an expense – it's an investment in employees that pays dividends across the organization. ROI isn't captured just in monetary returns – it's reflected in an empowered, unified workforce ready to drive your investment priorities forward. DeepHow's transformative approach to training doesn't just redefine the learning experience; it offers many measurable and immeasurable benefits:
Tangible Benefits:
- Cost Efficiency: The digital, on-demand nature reduces overheads and minimizes disruption to regular workflow, offering substantial savings and an enhanced ROI.
- Effective Learning Metrics: DeepHow provides actionable metrics that showcase effective learning and highlight reduced time-to-competence, up to 80%, making it easier to measure success.
- Inclusive Onboarding: With a multilingual feature, onboarding becomes smoother, ensuring inclusivity for workforces spanning multiple languages and cultures.
Intangible Benefits:
- Elevated Company Culture: Investing in DeepHow signals a commitment to employee growth, cultivating a genuinely supported and empowered workforce.
- Learning Flexibility: DeepHow respects individuality, accommodating diverse learning paces and styles, ensuring every employee gets the most out of their training experience.
- Boosted Loyalty: When employees feel valued and equipped with the tools to succeed, it fosters increased loyalty, naturally reducing turnover.
Speaking to Leadership about Elevating Training Methods
When addressing your leadership about investing in digital training methods, it's pivotal to articulate the business impact of a well-trained workforce and the risks of outdated approaches. Here's a suggested framework for that conversation:
- Data-Driven Argument: Begin by emphasizing the clear benefits of modern training methods. Present data and metrics, such as 50% faster onboarding times or improved performance indicators, illustrating the tangible advantages of progressive training platforms like DeepHow.
- Investing in Your Employees: Remind leadership that people are the core of any organization. By investing in state-of-the-art training methods, the company isn't merely spending money but is actively enhancing its most valuable asset.
- Reinforcing Company Values: Modern training isn't solely about skill acquisition. It's a method through which the company's culture and values are imparted and reinforced. Advanced training platforms ensure that these principles are communicated effectively and consistently.
- The Need for Adaptive Learning: Underscore the importance of training methods that can adapt to new industry trends, technological shifts, and evolving job roles. It's about future-proofing the organization.
- The Cost of Stagnation: End with a candid discussion on the repercussions of continuing to use outdated training methodologies. Whether it's decreased productivity, misalignment with industry standards, or simply a workforce that feels unsupported, the indirect costs can be substantial.
Allocating a budget for new tools can often seem like a daunting task, especially when you're not entirely sure about the returns. However, the transformation that companies experience with the right tool can be revolutionary. Consider the following case studies that depict the true power of DeepHow:
- Struggled with high onboarding costs and lengthy training procedures that impacted their bottom line.
- Benefit with DeepHow: They not only revamped their readiness training but also slashed their onboarding costs by an impressive 54%.
- They faced the daunting challenge of preserving invaluable expert knowledge and the inefficiencies associated with traditional methods.
- Benefit with DeepHow: They managed to encapsulate and transfer expertise with an outstanding 80% reduction in the time taken to achieve proficiency.
- They needed help with a lengthy onboarding process that hindered the smooth integration of new employees into their dynamic ecosystem.
- Benefit with DeepHow: By digitizing and optimizing their onboarding, they slashed their ramp-up time by a commendable 61%.
- They needed to spend less time on onboarding because it was leading to lost productivity and extended adjustment periods for new hires.
- Benefit with DeepHow: They strategically reinvented their onboarding process, cutting the time required in half with a 50% reduction.
When tangible benefits such as these are on the table, making room in the budget for a tool like DeepHow becomes not just a good decision but an essential one. The future of efficient training and onboarding is here, and it's time for companies to seize the opportunity.
Optimize Your Training Budgets for the Future
Investing in future-focused workforce training is essential. Traditional training models are riddled with drawbacks, from hidden costs to limited scalability. Meanwhile, comprehensive solutions like DeepHow unlock the immense value of evolved training platforms. DeepHow’s customizable digital library, actionable analytics, and real-time adaptability provide a clear and competitive advantage.
