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Has your training budget been slashed? 
Training and development budgets are often one of the first items cut in tight financial times, and while we all cry for more money, the cut may actually be a good thing.
The Reason
Why? Because it forces us to move beyond our traditional approaches to development and focus instead on innovative ways to deliver the same result with fewer resources. It is just like having to buy Christmas presents on a very tight budget—you can choose to view it as a restrictive imposition, or you can embrace the opportunity to come up with a thoughtful, creative yet inexpensive gift.
You may remember a scene in Apollo 13 in which the astronauts are stranded in a damaged spacecraft with rising carbon dioxide levels. An engineering team on the ground must devise a way to clean the air using only the scant materials on board. Thankfully, they succeed, proving that necessity really can be a catalyst for invention.
It is easy for HR professionals to become mired in the traditional “activities” of the craft rather than seeking new, original ways of achieving the same ends. As we know, contemporary HR is very much focused on delivering results.
Ways Forward
So how can this be done? The answer lies not in this post, but in your own ingenuity and that of other HR executives. I would love to hear some of your ideas from the field, but to get the ball rolling, here is one of my own:
Get people writing about their on-the-job learning experiences. Research shows that the simple art of keeping a learning journal has a significant impact on the degree to which managers develop their own ability to lead well. Plus, it costs a pittance. In my work in the hospitality industry, this practice was followed by a group of over 150 hotel managers who made blog entries based on insights gained from their on-the-job experiences over the previous month. The entries were written in a way that could make them useful to other managers (e.g., Three Mistakes to Avoid When Confronting an Angry Chef).
Your Ideas
What do others think?
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Great post! Too often people are guilty of the ‘if it doesn’t cost big $$ it isn’t real development’ mentality.
Another idea is to connect interested executives and other qualified staff to a growing list of charities, and non-profit organisations that run professional volunteer programs. These offer a way for staff to share their existing skills in service of a good cause, while also developing additional skills through taking part in some rather unique experiences.
Cheers
Tracey
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