3 Ways to Train on a Budget
I hope you have plans to develop your people in 2011. And I hope they are actionable plans. I have yet to meet a company that over-trains or over-develops its people. I meeting plenty of companies that believe that they can’t afford it. To which I say:
Baloney! Hogwash! Nonsense!
There is always a way to train and develop your people, at any budget. Here are a few ideas that won’t lighten your wallet too much.
1. The book club
A long time ago I was on the 2nd shift in an operation and we couldn’t get any of the dedicated resources to come on to shift and train. So we did it ourselves. Each week someone would lead a chapter. We would discuss it, and then turn it into action. At the time, we used The New Manufacturing Challenge
2. Just-in-time training
If you aren’t having daily or weekly huddles, you should be. You could easily extend this by a small margin at some defined period to provide short bursts of just-in-time training. Train people, and then start implementing it. We developed Single Point Lessons for exactly this kind of purpose.
3. The bag-lunch learning sessions
You have a lot of knowledge in your organization. But often, those resources don’t have time to turn into full-time training resources. Instead, have them share parts of their knowledge at brown-bag (meaning, bring your own lunch) sessions. Your employees (at least the ones you want to keep) should want to learn anyway, so this gives them the opportunity to do so. Keep the sessions short and focused.
Is this as effective as an integrated, structured training plan? Certainly not. But it is still progress. Don’t tell me you can’t afford to develop your people. There are no excuses.
How have you learned to train on a budget?
Add to book club – sometimes the budget will extend to a $250 video. SME has some excellent ones. There’s also a whole lot to find on YouTube these days. I’m a big reader, but not everyone is, so video can help the visual and auditory learners.
Add to book club – sometimes the budget will extend to a $250 video. SME has some excellent ones. There’s also a whole lot to find on YouTube these days. I’m a big reader, but not everyone is, so video can help the visual and auditory learners.
Add to book club – sometimes the budget will extend to a $250 video. SME has some excellent ones. There’s also a whole lot to find on YouTube these days. I’m a big reader, but not everyone is, so video can help the visual and auditory learners.
And for experiential learners, there are plant visits. Local professional association chapters often arrange them, or arrange your own through your networks. Take some front-line people. If you’re brave, host a tour and use feedback cards as an improvement idea generator.
And for experiential learners, there are plant visits. Local professional association chapters often arrange them, or arrange your own through your networks. Take some front-line people. If you’re brave, host a tour and use feedback cards as an improvement idea generator.
And for experiential learners, there are plant visits. Local professional association chapters often arrange them, or arrange your own through your networks. Take some front-line people. If you’re brave, host a tour and use feedback cards as an improvement idea generator.
Jamie, what do you think is an average amount of time per person that a good “Lean” company would budget for training per month?
Jamie, what do you think is an average amount of time per person that a good “Lean” company would budget for training per month?
Jamie, what do you think is an average amount of time per person that a good “Lean” company would budget for training per month?
I like Karen’s additions. I have used the Lunch-n-Learns quite a bit. Could use free or inexpensive webinars in order to get thought leaders “in-house” for a fraction of the cost.
I like Karen’s additions. I have used the Lunch-n-Learns quite a bit. Could use free or inexpensive webinars in order to get thought leaders “in-house” for a fraction of the cost.
I like Karen’s additions. I have used the Lunch-n-Learns quite a bit. Could use free or inexpensive webinars in order to get thought leaders “in-house” for a fraction of the cost.
Thanks – agree on the videos Karen. Plant visits are good but usually really need facilitation to get quality learning out of them. Too often, plant tours are just industrial tourism.
Eric, first, a reason that it can’t really be answered…all learning and development doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive with “work.” We can integrate development into our work in ways that we’re really killing two birds with one stone.
Beyond that, it also depends on the role, and the future expectations of the individual. I’ve never really measured it, but I would guess somewhere between 0.5-3 %. Although depending on the time period, and what’s going on in the organization, we’ve seen it be even higher than that.
Thanks – agree on the videos Karen. Plant visits are good but usually really need facilitation to get quality learning out of them. Too often, plant tours are just industrial tourism.
Eric, first, a reason that it can’t really be answered…all learning and development doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive with “work.” We can integrate development into our work in ways that we’re really killing two birds with one stone.
Beyond that, it also depends on the role, and the future expectations of the individual. I’ve never really measured it, but I would guess somewhere between 0.5-3 %. Although depending on the time period, and what’s going on in the organization, we’ve seen it be even higher than that.
Thanks – agree on the videos Karen. Plant visits are good but usually really need facilitation to get quality learning out of them. Too often, plant tours are just industrial tourism.
Eric, first, a reason that it can’t really be answered…all learning and development doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive with “work.” We can integrate development into our work in ways that we’re really killing two birds with one stone.
Beyond that, it also depends on the role, and the future expectations of the individual. I’ve never really measured it, but I would guess somewhere between 0.5-3 %. Although depending on the time period, and what’s going on in the organization, we’ve seen it be even higher than that.
Jamie,
Great post! Your off shift experience is still paying dividends. Leaders need to adapt and develop their people with what they have and you demonstrate how to do it even without a big budget.
Thanks,
Chris
Jamie,
Great post! Your off shift experience is still paying dividends. Leaders need to adapt and develop their people with what they have and you demonstrate how to do it even without a big budget.
Thanks,
Chris
Jamie,
Great post! Your off shift experience is still paying dividends. Leaders need to adapt and develop their people with what they have and you demonstrate how to do it even without a big budget.
Thanks,
Chris