Don’t Let COVID Derail Your Professional Development
Nothing should derail your professional development ambitions, not even the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is how to make your training budget count this year:
Employee training is frequently one of the first budgets to be cut when organisations are looking for quick wins for savings, though it’s not always clear why. Some attribute this to the ROI of training being far less quantifiable or easily identified in monetary terms than other areas. However, this is a very short-sighted outlook. Long-term issues stemming from reductions in training budgets vastly outweigh short-term cost-cutting benefits.
As organisations look to stabilise and grow, fewer projects and less money spent by key customers has led to cost cutting across departments, reductions in head counts and shifting priorities. Even now, with green shoots of recovery sprouting and a rosier picture for the global economy, many organisations are still counting the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond reducing employee numbers, one of the main budgetary areas impacted by cutting costs is organisational training and professional development.
Reduced training budgets = bad news
Of course, as an organisation that actively promotes personal and professional development, Procurious is quite biased in this respect! And we understand that for many organisations, not reducing training budgets might be a hard sell when it comes to bottom-line figures.
But, as the world slowly plans for a post-COVID era and the global economy begins to recover, now is definitely not the time to be cutting these training and development budgets. For employers, it comes down to these three reasons:
- The pandemic has widened skill set gaps
Studies have highlighted several areas where organisational skills gaps already existed before the pandemic. These gaps have then been exacerbated by the events of 2020, as redundancies have further reduced head counts and remaining employees have broader remits, more work to cover on a daily basis and are taking on vastly different roles than they were twelve months ago.
Without a budget for new hires, organisations need to be supporting their employees to do their increased roles effectively and efficiently. This should take the shape of organisations offering training opportunities and supporting professional development, rather than cutting spend and hoping for the best.
- If you don’t offer it, someone else will
People are re-evaluating their careers in the post-COVID world and, if recent studies are to be believed, nearly half of employees plan to leave their current role this year. The main reasons for moving include changing organisational cultures, continuing a better work-life balance and more attractive overall packages.
But a major factor for the people considering new employment is a concern about career development and support from organisations for achieving this.
If people don’t believe their organisation is supporting their development with appropriate training and up-skilling, they will go elsewhere to get it.
- It’s worth the investment
If training budgets are being cut due to less quantifiable ROI than in other areas, it’s time for a rethink. Not only are organisations more likely to retain key employees by supporting training and development, but they’re going to mitigate the risk of skill set gaps costing more money, ensuring people are adequately trained to do their jobs.
To put a number on it, the Association for Talent Development (ATD) have proven that this investment is worthwhile, with organisations offering a formal training program enjoying a 218% higher income per employee and 24% higher profit margin than those organisations that don’t.
Make the most of what you have
Unfortunately, organisations are probably unlikely to change their minds in the short-term, particularly as many have already had to make severe cuts to stay solvent during the pandemic. Training budgets will continue to be cut and individuals are going to have to wait a bit longer for support for professional development, further education and chartership.
However, even with smaller budgets, individuals and organisations can still ensure that professional development activities aren’t derailed entirely. The key is making the most of the available budget and taking advantage of the increasing number of high-quality, low-cost, or even free learning resources available.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way learning and training are delivered, with an increasing number of institutions and organisations moving their courses online. This has led to an exponential growth in both tailored training and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), which are accessible from anywhere in the world and at a time that suits individuals and their organisations. What’s more, as people don’t need to travel to attend or deliver the training, the cost of these courses is simultaneously decreasing.
In procurement and supply chain, there is a wealth of options available for online learning and development, including Procurious, CIPS, Alison, Coursera, edX and Udemy to name but a few. All these organisations either create their own content, or host other organisations, institutions, universities and colleges. Some of the courses do have fees attached, but they are vastly reduced, and certainly justifiable for budget requests.
So, although budgets may be smaller than ideal, it’s no excuse for putting professional development on hold. Make sure employees feel valued and supported and, at the same time, ensure they have the skills to drive the organisation forward as the recovery continues.
