Many organizations are struggling with offering their employees training and development opportunities with ever shrinking resources.  With today’s economic constraints, it is necessary for organizational leaders and HR professionals to examine alternative development opportunities.

I recently watched a ASTD webinar presented by Halelly Azulay, founder of TalentGrow, on three creative ways to develop employees without sending them to training.

  • Volunteering.  Although many organizations look for volunteer opportunities as a means for giving back to the community, it can also be used to develop new or expand existing skills for employees.  For example, if someone in the accounting or payroll department wishes to contribute to a worthwhile cause while at the same time expanding or strengthening their skills, working for a non-profit in an accounting role can be a perfect fit.  If seeking to develop new skills, the same employee could choose to volunteer to work in the member recruiting arm of a professional organization they are already affiliated with.  Such a context change can help to develop public speaking skills, networking skills and writing skills.  The volunteering can be done on company time or during the employees’ own time.
  • Digital Storytelling.  With a high percentage of seasoned workers poised to leave the workforce as Baby Boomers retire, it is essential for organizations to find ways to capture and transfer these employees’ knowledge.  Non-professional podcasting and video recording are useful tools to capture employees experiences, insight and advice.  One idea is to assign new employees during the onboarding process to meet with and record the “elevator speech” of members of senior management.  This allows the employee to become more familiar with the organization, enhances networking skills and develops a library of recordings can then be shared with the entire organization by posting on the firm’s intranet.
  •  Develop an Innovation and Creativity Zone.  A creativity zone provides employees with work time to think outside the box on issues that impact the overall organization or product line.  This is something that has been done by many leading technical and manufacturing companies with great success.  Google uses “Google Time” which allows employees to devote 20 percent of their work time to a problem or issues that is outside their scope of work.  This same concept was used years ago by 3M and is how the idea of the “Sticky Note” came into existence.  Allowing employees to utilize such an opportunity can help to develop strategic thinking and a big picture view.

Employee development does not have to be done in a classroom with power point slides and evaluation forms, nor does it have to be expensive.  We have seen many of our clients utilize “lunch and learn” venues.  Providing employees with lunch while presenting short talks on interviewing techniques, marketing approaches and leadership skills can be a cost effective way to provide training as well as develop a sense of community.  As you have seen, there are many ways to be creative and still derive the same results.  What can you do to help your company develop its talents on a shoestring budget?