Part 2: Training - For Who's Benefit?

My last blog post, about policies around training costs and possible reimbursement by the company, prompted one entrepreneur to say to me: "Two years... that's a lot!"

As I pointed out to her, all such policies should include a phrase about management being able to waive the policy, if they want.  As a manager, you should always be aware of the difference between an employee who's been on a training course and then has to leave the company, shortly thereafter, due to some factor like a spousal job transfer, and an employee who takes the course and then, three months later, waltzes out the door to a better paying job, bolstered by the training you just paid for.

Another approach is to have a list of courses that the company recommends employees take, if they want to advance, and then have deferred reimbursement to the employee.  That is, if the employee goes ahead, takes the course and pays for it themselves, after a certain amount of time, when you can see the training has had some effect, you can then reimburse the employee.  The list of courses can include a schedule of when the company would reimburse.  Remember, again, small companies rarely have lavish amounts of funds floating around anyway and wanting to see the benefit before shelling out the bucks is perfectly reasonable.

This way, if an employee takes a course, and is quickly able to leverage the skills to get a better paying job, you will not be out of pocket if they leave before they are entitled to reimbursement.

One of the other issues to consider, with all this talk about reimbursing training, is whether or not you will have the money when the employee seeks reimbursement.  Given all the ups and downs of the economy, the best of intentions can often go awry.  Cash flow issues dog most small companies all their lives, and before you set up any policies around training and who pays for it, you may want to consider what you can afford based on your historical worst months or quarters.  That's why another good idea is to put a cap on how much the company will contribute for courses employees take.  Setting up a scale might save you a lot of anguish down the road.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Deborah C. Sawyer is the author of Other People's Problems:  Why you need to go on interviewing your employees - after you hire them!

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/other_peoples_problems/9268001

You can also purchase a digital file (e-book) via the same link.