The Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 may be over but I find it has left a sore spot with many companies when it comes to spending on HR functions. This is especially true in those organizations where HR thought leaders have yet to establish themselves as financial decision makers on the powers that be table. Along with other challenges this often creates a scenario where talent development takes a backseat in the company budget.
If you fall into the majority of people who face this dilemma – fear not. There are numerous creative ways for developing key talent in your organization without spending a dime on traditional training sessions. These solutions may not be for everyone but I guarantee they work.
1. Online Learning
I’m a really huge fan of a online learning programs. I covered them in detail in my Social Media Toolkit – 15 Social Media Tools to Advance Your Career. What stands out most in my opinion is that the options are limitless. You can go for free or paid programs and the topics are very much endless.
So if it’s that great why aren’t more people spending time enhancing their own skill sets? Because everyone gets involved in day to day operations and forget to ‘take care of themselves’. To encourage employees to take part in online training you can:
- Identify trainings which you feel are appropriate for a certain designation or division and broadcast them to the group.
- Add self-initiated development as a criteria in employee performance appraisals so that people are more driven to take part in online learning.
2. Employee Exchange Programs
I remember seeing funny movies about student exchange programs – the culture shock, steep learning curve and more often than not, a good experience for all those involved. That’s precisely what employee exchange programs are meant to achieve: an all-round rich talent development experience.
The traditional fears felt by those who haven’t taken part in these vary. They may be concerned about valuable information being leaked to competitors or employees leaving their jobs for the other company. To overcome such challenges:
- Select organizations to exchange employees with smartly. For example, pick companies which compliment rather than compete with you. This is especially possible for NGO’s who have similar functions but have different corporate visions.
- Chose employees that are mature enough to respect the situation for what it is and are capable as acting as respectable representatives for your company.
3. In-house Training
By In-house training, I don’t mean bringing in an external trainer within your company premises. I’m talking about having employees take pride in their best skills by sharing and training their peers. There’s no better way to push knowledge sharing within the organization itself.
This strategy needs to be planned well otherwise it has the potential of becoming a situation which people use to socialize rather than learn. By no means should you be micromanaging the trainings. People should be asked to volunteer to be in-house trainers and though they may be hesitant initially, there should be a visible increase of interest in the program. A few tips to keep in mind include:
- Approve training sessions and ask trainers to submit outlines. Along with giving you an overview of what they’ll be discussing, this will force them to deliver structured trainings.
- Give credit to trainers, especially the successful ones. You could start a trainer motivation program by rewarding those who receive the best feedback. Or share training session stories through email or intranet. After all, everyone loves their two seconds of fame.
So, these are 3 talent development techniques which in all fairness really do require zero financial investment and you must admit, they are pretty powerful ways of expanding the mental horizons of your team. Please let me know if you plan on trying any of these and what you hope the team achieves from them.