Articles
9 February 2012

A Wise Investment

Employee Education a Smart Move for Companies

by Hilary Ingoldsby Whitesides

09 February 2012—

With the economy still putting a visible strain on businesses, executives continue questioning their fiscal decisions. Everything comes down to the bottom line and ensuring black instead of red. Though investing in your employees’ continuing education may be low on your company’s priority list, you may want to reconsider. Studies show that investing in your employees’ education just might be what your business needs to survive tough times.

 

Stepping it Up

The recession has forced businesses to enhance performance while remaining competitive. And when the economic dust settles, companies that make wise decisions will emerge stronger. One wise decision your company can make today is investing in your employees, according to Greg Richins, director of Workforce Education and External Partnerships (WEEP) and Continuing Education and Community Services at Weber State University (WSU). 

“Perhaps the most important reason companies invest in employee training is that it helps them remain competitive,” says Richins. “As businesses incorporate new technology and processes, the demand for better trained employees increases. It simply pays off by having smarter employees.”

David Stokes, director of Community Education at Westminster College, agrees. He believes employees are a business’ greatest asset and that keeping employees current and up-to-date is one of the best things a company can do for itself. With technology and policies that change as quickly and often as the economic forecast, it seems more important than ever to keep employees on the cutting edge. 

And the benefits don’t end there. Continued employee education may also lead to better short- and long-term performance. Richins cites a study conducted by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). The study reports a doubling increase in productivity for employees who receive additional training. According to Richins, the inability to see progress is a common reason employees leave a company. On the other side, employees are more loyal to employers who invest in their development. What business wouldn’t benefit from more productive and loyal employees?

Anne E. O’Brien, director of Professional Education at the University of Utah (U of U), agrees that employee loyalty is a positive result of additional training, and increased brainstorming and creativity are huge benefits as well.

“During lean times many organizations cut budgets by cutting training. The ironic thing is that it is during these challenging times that employees need to be their most creative, productive and opportunistic,” O’Brien says.

If Richins, O’Brien and the ASTD are correct, additional employee training might be the solution for many companies’ ability to weather the economic storm and look toward the future. Stokes agrees. 

“In times of recession there are also great opportunities,” Stokes says. “It’s a great time to rethink your business and look at where you’re going to be in five or 10 years.”

Finding the silver lining amid the looming economic clouds isn’t always easy, but experts maintain opportunities like new strategies and employee improvement exist during recessions that don’t exist during periods of boom. Stokes believes companies need to seriously think about investing in the education of their employees. Companies should also encourage employees to be proactive in utilizing training opportunities to become more valuable to their company. 

“Companies need to think about what kind of productivity they want and employees need to ask themselves ‘what am I willing to do to improve myself and make myself more valuable?’” Stokes says. 

 

Course of Action

Utah’s universities understand the important role continuing education plays in the state’s businesses and communities, and are striving to meet industry needs. WSU has a long-running employee and community education program, and the U of U also has a professional education program that continues to grow. Westminster recently launched its continuing education program last January. 

Westminster’s program is divided into two categories: personal enrichment, focusing on community interests such as art and skiing, and workforce education that caters to local industry and business needs. Westminster also offers courses on management, investing and business development. 

Classes are usually held in the evenings and on Saturdays to accommodate working professionals. Classes vary in price, but Stokes says training costs are made affordable to meet market demands. Stokes anticipates the number of professional workshops will continue to grow and broaden as business needs are made known. Businesses can contact the continuing education department to suggest a course.

WSU’s WEEP program also strives to meet the business community’s needs
through a myriad of course offerings including communication skills, customer service, human resource management, information technology, leadership and supervision, operations and supply chain management, sales and marketing, and technical training. 

“The [WEEP program] functions as an educational and training liaison to business, industry, health care facilities, local, state and federal government agencies, and professional and trade associations,” says Richins.

WSU also uses its Layton-based Training and Learning Center to deliver customized business trainings. Businesses can also participate in workshops, community education and other training programs held at Hill Air Force Base. WSU specializes in Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) which is “a systematic, organization-wide approach to identifying weak links and seeking out process-improving opportunities” used by the U.S. Army. The approach teaches participants “how to establish a culture of continuous process improvement and thereby achieve maximum bottom-line results” and is ideal for a variety of industries such as manufacturing, hospitals, medical and dental offices, financial institutions, government agencies, and educational systems, Richens says. 

The U of U has offered professional education classes for more than 20 years with the mission “to inspire excellence in professionals from a variety of industries and disciplines and to improve organizational capacity across the great State of Utah,” O’Brien says. Open enrollment courses allow anyone to register for subjects ranging from project management to finance, and certificates can be attained by completing a series of courses. According to O’Brien, the U of U also partners with associations and advocacy groups to deliver customized programs to various industries, and hopes to eventually create a life sciences program.

Often, it’s advantageous for companies to send a larger number of employees through the training. Many package prices include few additional charges for additional students. Special rates can also be negotiated for customized on-site training allowing the company to save on travel costs, time and extra pay. And many businesses may be eligible for state training funds, O’Brien says, adding that the U of U’s program also offers scholarships for some programs including the Nonprofit Academy and the Law Enforcement Leadership program. 

Other Utah schools are also focused on meeting community industry needs; Brigham Young University offers professional development courses through conferences, workshops, corre-spondence, evening classes and off-campus centers. And Utah State University offers state-wide opportunities for professionals to receive additional training. 

 

Best in Class

The ASTD recommends that employees receive a minimum of 40 hours of training a year, but is extra education and training really worth a company’s dime? Many Utah businesses think so, and many are taking advantage of the plethora of continuing education programs across the state to improve their businesses. ATK Thiokol Propulsion, Intermountain Healthcare and Parker Hannifin Corporation are a few businesses profiting from the education investments they’ve made in their employees. 

“Working with Continuing Edu-cation at Weber State University has provided real value in the development of personnel and skills within our information systems organization,” says Paul Christensen, applications analyst at ATK Thiokol Propulsion. “Maintaining current skill sets to leverage new technologies is always a challenge and [continuing education] has always been able to help us stay current in this dynamic environment.” 

Aside from gaining increased productivity and loyalty, providing additional training often boosts office morale which, during a time filled with pay cuts and lay offs, may be more important than ever. Employers who are unable to give bonuses or raises might be able to provide additional training to increase their employees’ skills and even livelihoods. From agriculture to insurance, additional training is essential to staying competitive and at times can be all the difference in a customer’s decision.

According to O’Brien, the results are clear. Feedback has shown improvement in leadership, scheduling, overall efficiency of processes, accountability and direction, and fundraising from many participants. 

“I had one fire chief tell me that after a management team member attended our program, he saw a marked improvement in the accountability and direction of his team’s progress. I had another nonprofit professional say that they doubled their year-end fundraising goal because of strategies they learned from our nonprofit classes,” he says.

Whatever the need, Utah’s abundance of professional education seems to have the answer. And success stories like those O’Brien described prove that focusing on the individual just might be the remedy businesses and the economy are looking for. 

“The greatest asset a company has is the people who work for them,” Stokes says. “They make or break a business and the willingness for businesses to think outside the box and reshape their businesses and redevelop faculty might be the best thing for them in the long run.”  

 


Built by Crowell