I was quietly having lunch with some friends when I overheard a group of Human Resource managers complaining about the difficulty they faced in getting employees to sign up for training programmes.

One manager said that he was constantly receiving excuses for their non participation, either they were too busy with more important work functions or had forgotten about the training (even after being reminded the day before) or they simply did not see how their training pertained to “their work”.

Yet every year, while senior managers jostle over how to contain the rising cost of training and make a case for continuing training programs, a major complaint among employees was that the organisation was not investing enough to train staff, another manager added. 'You simply can't win. It's like flushing money down the toilet," yet another manager said in disgust. This was not the first time I had heard human resources managers complained about staff cutting training, but these appeared visibly frustrated.

The problem, sadly, affects many organisations; large, middle or small. The sad reality is, while employees find new and innovative ways to avoid training, employers continue to invest in training programmes that obviously do not work…..But why do HR departments continue to spend money on training and development that are destine for failure?

The answer is simple. In many instances training programmes are done in a vacuum and are not tied to the business goals of the organisation. Often there is a disconnection between the employee’s roles and functions, and the strategic goals and objectives of the training programmes itself. Employees are often left wondering, “Why am I going on this programme?”

The fact is if your training programmes are not in sync with your business, customer and market needs and you are flushing money down the toilet. Your human resources department should be looking to develop skills, knowledge, behaviours, attitudes relevant to you business and the environment in which it operates.

“Outsourcing Training Can Increase Profits By More Than 20%”

Studies have shown that firms that outsource training and development needs have over 20% higher gross profit margin per employee than those that invest in inhouse training. In addition, in-house training cost more than 70% more than outsourced training. The bottom line is if you do your training inhouse you are spending more to make less. You do the math.

“Outsourcing Training Can Increase Productivity By More Than 3% On Average”

You may be thinking “3%! What’s 3% increase?” Let us help you put this in context. In 2003, clients who sell retail goods outsourced training to Patant Consultants International, to assist with one of its retail outlets that was under performing. This particular outlet employs 12 persons and generates an average annual sales volume of $25,000. ). At that time the client paid $400 for the on day training workshop. Within the same year of outsourcing a one Sales and Customer Relations, sales volume increased by almost 3% (2.78 % to be exact). What is significant is that the company recorded a 73% ROI in that year alone.

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