Are You Ready to Buy Into Training?
By Brenda (McClain) Asbury, RAM®, Founder, BMA, LLC

How much capital are you investing in one of your largest assets? Does your mind automatically picture bricks and mortar? Then consider a new picture for your mental scrapbook: your employees participating in training and then actually taking these new skills back to their jobs and applying them.

Not an image that springs immediately to mind? Perhaps you should consider these points.
In December 2005, the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) reported that, "as organizations face stronger global competition, business leaders recognize that employee learning and skills development is more important than ever to grow and sustain a competitive advantage." In addition, in the latest ASTD State of the Industry Report it was noted that,  "U.S. organizations are investing more in employee learning, and technology continues to play a major role in delivering learning to the workforce."

If current practices continue, this training will not take place. In a climate of shrinking resources, training is often given the lowest priority. Employees actually need more training to adapt to new technologies and meet higher quality and productivity goals, but they are being offered less.

Some forward-thinking companies are taking a look at how they treat their most valuable asset — their employees. They realize that in order to attract, develop, and retain employees, they must “buy in” (philosophically and financially) to training. Unfortunately, most companies don’t know where to start. Training directors are continually at odds with the organization’s budget and are often faced with the challenge of expanding programs with a declining or stagnant budget.

Superficial or occasional programs provide a “band-aid” approach to the problem and may even exacerbate it. Or the program’s inherent deficiencies may fail to teach the necessary skills for legal compliance. Employees and the organizations get into trouble; jobs are lost; lawsuits are filed; people get discouraged and leave.

Short-changing training also deprives employees of the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally. The cycle continues until someone decides to make a change. Quality training is the key to breaking this lose-lose cycle.

Management must decide to become proactive, to provide the learning environment that not only will inspire property managers to participate, but also will yield results that the organization can see. How will you recognize quality training when you see it?

First of all, you must assess your company’s needs to understand completely what you want your training to accomplish. Do you want to train to keep up with the workforce? Or to have the cutting edge over your competition in managing properties? Do you want a minimal program that will just keep you out of hot water? The clarity of goal is extremely important. Companies that report they get the most out of their training investment link this success closely to clearly defining their company’s direction.

Once you determine your goals, you need to decide how much the organization is willing to spend. A good rule of thumb is to spend 2% of your payroll expenses annually for training. Nationally, most companies commit between 0.5% and 1.5% on training and development.

How do employees get the most out of training? Employees who are encouraged to advance and are provided with a career development path that includes education become empowered. Workers become committed to the organization that displays commitment to them. Employees who are required to attend training and whose input is not valued usually begrudge training and feel it is useless. So a key part of the decision process in planning training includes employee involvement.

The move toward professionalization of property management has had its basis in employee-involved education. Quality, specific training — not vague or sporadic efforts — are the cornerstone for a real return on investment for your organization. Think about this the next time you are involved with a decision regarding training. If training is too expensive, what do you think the lack of training is costing you?

Brenda (McClain) Asbury, RAM founded BMA, LLC in 1991 to promote quality training. She is the former national trainer for the largest property management firm in the U.S. She can be reached at (336) 632-0909 or at TeamAsbury@aol.com. [ return to top ]