The growing business handbook : inspiration and advice ... - Sparkler

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Training for
growth
4.4
David Gibbons-Wood and Gemma Kearney at Aberdeen Business School
discuss direct – and indirect – benefits of training in driving forward a business
Traditionally, smaller businesses don’t engage in training to the same extent as
their larger counterparts, due in part to time and cost pressures. These barriers
are further compounded in a recessionary environment, where training is often one of
the first areas to be axed in an attempt to cut costs. However, there are strong
arguments for participating in training, especially for smaller businesses emerging
from a recession and preparing for growth.
The Business Skills for Growth project commenced in September 2008. The project
was part funded by the ESF (European Social Fund) and the Aberdeen Business
School, Robert Gordon University. The central aim of the project focuses on the
development and provision of short courses to improve SME business skills in specific
need areas. The project targets SMEs and recent business start ups with a core
objective of increasing business growth and assisting productivity. While the direct
benefits of training are well known, over the last 18 months we have been providing
business skills training to small and medium enterprises across a range of sectors, and
participants have reported a range of valuable indirect benefits. This chapter provides
an insight into these often-overlooked benefits and offers advice on how managers
can ensure that their organizations maximize the benefits of training.
Now is an ideal time to participate in training as you may be able to dedicate more
time to it than when your business is stretched to full capacity. Indeed after a difficult
economic period, engaging in training may boost employee morale and send a positive
message about the future, while ensuring that your business is fully prepared for the
upturn.
However, training remains an investment in both time and money and it is
important to achieve the maximum return on your investment. The direct benefits of
training are clear and include the acquisition of new skills, problem solving and
increased knowledge of a specific topic. Many of the Business Skills for Growth
participants reported these improvements, with numerous examples of participants
changing their business practices to utilize their new skills. Indeed, one participant
overhauled his entire website and used his new skills to improve his online sales.
Another improved her firm’s financial understanding by using her new skills to
produce more detailed monthly management accounts to help the firm truly
understand their financial position. Importantly, there are also a multitude of indirect