Insufficient training has become one of the most significant concerns for business over the past 10 years. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Survey of Investor Confidence, released in January 2004, ranked training as the second highest impediment to business investment, ahead of wage costs, Federal and State Government regulations or local competition.

So how do you know what type of training is going to offer you and your business the best value for money and results?

One way is to undertake a training needs analysis. If you can determine the difference between the current skills and knowledge of your employees, and the skills and knowledge they need to drive the business forward, you are almost there.

Employees generally like extra responsibility – they rise to the challenge if they feel they are trusted and important! For both employees and employers, the key aspects of achieving this are to:

• look at the company’s goals and decide whether a change in attitude is needed to achieve these objectives;
• work out the specific responsibilities of each particular job and what competencies are lacking;
• determine what skills and knowledge employees already have;
• identify who needs extra training, or refresher training, to achieve their daily tasks more efficiently.

Training budgets are limited, so it is important to also look internally for support. Find out whether some employees have useful skills they can pass on to their colleagues. Most of all, involve your staff in the training needs analysis process. Welcome all sorts of feedback, because that’s a key indicator of whether or not you have spent your training dollar wisely.