10 Ways To Stretch Your Training Budget

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1. Look seriously at your existing training.

Complacency could be costing you money. Look at the way you’re already handling training, and decide if it’s really the best way to continue. You may be struggling with outdated materials or expensive trainers. A total overhaul of your training methods could paradoxically be the way to save money.

2. Do more with less.

Bloat can easily work its way into a training program. Do you really need as much as you have? You might be offering giveaways to participants that they aren’t using. You might have a co-trainer when a lead trainer is enough. Look critically, and you’ll find ways to operate your training more efficiently.

3. Cut all travel related to training and move online.

Travel is the number one budget-eater when it comes to training. Airfare, hotels, meals, time away from the office…it can amount to thousands for each employee. End it. Just stop paying for any travel and offer training, such as e-learning, that doesn’t require anyone to go anywhere.

4. Keep it simple.

Simulations and 3-D animations are excellent learning aids, but not always necessary. An educational program that is relevant for your employees and has engaging material that appeals to different learning styles is far more important than something that more closely resembles a video game. Text with pictures is fine.

5. Partner up with other programs and departments.

They could have very similar training needs to yours. Start networking and find a way to share the expense of learning. Your employees can benefit from more cross-departmental networking anyway.

6. Partner up with vendors.

We at Talance have excellent relationships with our clients and have worked together to develop in-depth trainings that save considerable money and time. Look outside your organization for opportunities.

7. Use the web.

There are many tools and resources freely available online that can significantly augment your training. Look for video lectures, slide presentations and podcasts in your subject area.

8. Ask for donations.

Especially helpful when building a physical library, donations can make a huge difference to your training budget. You can quickly acquire books, CDs, DVDs and other materials with absolutely no cost simply by asking.

9. Address a gap with the first course you develop.

Creating a course from scratch is a big job, so it’s natural that some organizations look to create the easiest first. Easy might not be what you need, however. You could wind up with fluff, rather than something truly useful that will improve performance.

10. Plan and follow through.

So many noble projects fail because they weren’t properly managed. Be sure you have a dedicated person to manage your training project, and make sure their position is funded through the future. Elearning and live training both need stewardship, and without it, they will turn to dust.

Want to talk more about budgets?

Schedule a free consultation with one of our training experts to talk about stretching your budget.

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