Positioning learning initiatives during economic uncertainty

by Marlene Liontis
Principal Lion Global HR
http://www.lionglobalhr.co.uk/

As the economy tightens there will be an increasing trend across the board to reduce costs and overheads. This is an ideal opportunity to learn some of the world’s best practices used by the leanest organisations in the world.

Learn how to cut costs without decreasing the high quality of your services and products.
Some managers today have never been in a position of cutting costs. If you look at economic downturns over the past 100 years you will notice that the world is getting better at managing the downturns.

The duration of downturns continues to decrease, so make sure you fence off and retain your key employees.

Ideas for the learning industry over the next 12 months:

Whether we like it or not some learning initiatives will be considered as discretionary spending. Managers within the learning industry are being expected to reduce their learning budgets. Here are some ideas to help you provide the best possible learning services to your people at a lower cost. Otherwise you will be looking for these key people in the near future.

Reduce the length of training programs
Prioritise the content and you could organise half day programs instead of full day programs. You could run 60 -90 minute program instead of half day programs

Train your Trainers
Re-evaluate the type of training your internal trainers are conducting. Find out more about their passions and talents. Organise an advanced Train the Trainer program to boost internal delivery skills.

You could also look at developing the instructional design skills of your internal people. Sometimes internal trainers spend far too much designing the perfect workbook when they should be delivering learning programs.

Maximise your conference
Conferences are great opportunities to promote learning. Conferences can also bore the socks off participants. Why don’t you reduce the unnecessary content and bring in a professional speaker for 60 minutes to talk about something like:”5 ways to negotiate better deals without giving away unnecessary concessions

Marlene Liontis is the Principal of Lion Global HR, a global supplier of Legal Risk Management Visual Aids, Soft Skills & OHS Training and Instructional Design. For more information, go to http://www.lionglobalhr.co.uk/