Companies need a mindset shift around training

Starting in the 1980s, tuition reimbursement became the talent development tool of choice among the Fortune 500 and the smaller companies that followed their lead. In this model, an employee could pursue an MBA or some other advanced degree, and the company would pay for it, or a good portion of it. Training accomplished. End of story.

In today's fast-evolving business landscape, where the need for new skills is the only constant, that "one and done" mindset for training doesn't meet the employee development needs anymore. Instead, companies should take a more nimble and persistent approach by offering ongoing training for employees throughout their careers. It will cost money and time, but it's the only way for companies to stay competitive and retain their best workers.

There are several mindset adjustments that are helpful here for companies when it comes to wrapping their heads around career-long training. The first is to get away from the "big ticket" mentality of dropping $60-90k so that a handful of employees can take 2-3 years to pick up an advanced degree. 

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Think "small" instead: smaller investments, smaller chunks of skills, and smaller timelines. Practically speaking, this might mean budgeting $1,200 per employee so that they can take a 4-8 week credential or certificate program and pick up a specific skill like learning the ins and outs of social media marketing or tapping into advanced Excel functionality to create better campaigns, budgets and financial forecasts.

As a plus, this focus on "quicker fixes" has the benefit of improving the skill base and overall value of a much greater percentage of a company's workforce than the big-ticket approach, which only impacts a few employees — and puts a company's eggs in just a few baskets, from a talent development perspective.

A common fear among companies is that if they get employees trained up with new and desirable skills, they're simply going to pack up and take those skills to another company. This is the wrong mindset.

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It's true that this abandonment scenario sometimes plays out with tuition reimbursement programs, where employees are required to stay at an organization for a certain number of years or risk being on the hook for the cost of their advanced degree. The minute their mandatory "stay put" time has passed, they might fly the coop.

While this can happen with smaller certifications, the opposite scenario is much more likely: By showing employees that they're willing to invest in their development on an ongoing basis, companies create a more attractive long-term pathway for employees and better growth opportunities within the organization, which creates an incentive to stick around.

The net results: By embracing less expensive, quicker fix credentials as opposed to more expensive master's degrees, companies will have invested in a greater number of their people, while probably spending the same or less amount of money. And they will have done so while gaining a bigger ROI on their talent development dollars, because most of their employees are probably going to stay with them.

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This last point speaks to another mindset that companies need to embrace when it comes to training: the fact that today's employees expect their employer to invest in their continued growth. Companies need to start treating training like the competitive perk it is, because in the war for talent, salary and benefits will only get them so far.

Most employees today, especially in the younger generations, see no need to commit to an organization for 10+ years unless there's a particularly compelling reason to do so. In most cases, they're ready to pivot and move on to the next opportunity after just two years. Training is a benefit that can keep them engaged within the company, allowing them to upskill and seize new opportunities right where they are.

Of course, not every organization is set up to deliver the training that employees need and seek. And in some cases, companies are trying to do more internally than they should be when it comes to training. 

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Companies should primarily be focusing on developing and delivering their products and services to market. They can certainly dole out some sales training and process training to their employees around these products and services — but they should leave the professional development and upskilling to someone else.

That's perhaps the final mindset shift that is required of companies when it comes to training: the realization that they don't have to do everything themselves. Partnering is just smart business for companies committed to career-long training for their workers, because only those who are doing it well will reap the full benefits.