Stop. Do not train your staff. They will leave your organisation anyway.
We have all heard supervisors tell us why we cannot attend a training course or a conference.
Training costs too much.
My staff does not have time for training.
There is no money in the budget.
We will send you on a training course in the future.
Why bother to train my staff? They are going to leave anyway.
“What’s worse than training your workers and losing them? Not training them and keeping them.”
– Zig Zigler, Motivational Speaker
Studies about workplace learning show that investment in employees improves the organisation’s bottom line.
According to a post written by Dale Dirkes on LinkedIn, the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) concluded a national study of workplace learning practices and outcomes in 540 U.S. corporations. By creating two sub-samples in the study (one sample invested an average of $900 per employee per year and the other invested an average of $275 per employee per year) researchers found the top group outpaced the bottom by:
- 57% higher sales per employee.
- 37% higher gross profit per employee.
The study also offers organisations — some for the first time — reliable ways to measure tangible results from a training investment.
In a second phase of the study, ASTD identified leading edge companies for “Best Practices” ideas.
Here’s what they learned from the best of the best. They:
- Invest up to 6% of payroll on overall workplace learning.
- train 86% of employees on average.
- utilise high-end technology (Internet, Webinar, computer-based training) to complement classroom sessions.
A graduate-level research project completed by Robert Klein, sales education manager for Nabisco, and aided by professor Dan Tanomery of Fairleigh Dickinson University, centered around what some U.S. companies are doing to train sales professionals.
The findings show there was a direct correlation between sales training and seven key business results:
- sales increase.
- market share increases.
- there is a tendency for more new product rollouts.
- productivity increases.
- higher employee morale (and better retention).
- customer satisfaction increases.
- net Profits Increase.
Findings also show:
- training improves employee performance.
- training enhances the bottom line.
- training saves labour.
- training saves money.
- training improves an organisation’s competitive edge.
- training increases worker productivity.
- training saves supervisory and administrative time and costs.
- training improves supporter satisfaction.
- training improves employee satisfaction and retention.
- investment in professional development training is a win-win for a non-profit organisation and the employee alike.
Each of us has a responsibility to our organisations and to our staff to ensure our teams are fully trained and have the capability to do the job we have hired them to do.
Our peak body, Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA), offers a terrific range of courses for our sector and these courses cover a variety of skill levels and topics. Courses include:
- Fundraising Essentials
- FIA Certificate in Fundraising
- FIA Diploma in Fundraising
- Copywriting for Fundraisers
- Creative for Fundraisers
- Data Analytics for Fundraisers
- Creating Transformational Mass Participation Events
- Feel Good Major Gifts
- Join the Bequests Revolution
FIA is offering courses in the classroom and also online to meet your training needs. Visit the FIA website for more details.
Semester I of the 2015 FIA training calendar launches this month. Signup for a course today and/or encourage your staff to attend a series of courses this year.
FundraisingForce offers training on various fundraising database systems, including The Raiser’s Edge. We also offer training on Blackbaud NetCommunity. Contact us for more information and to tailor a programme to meet your organisation’s requirements.
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