The True Cost of Training

Posted by Allen Baird, Partner on Sep 28, 2009 in training | 2 comments

Training is like an iceberg.  Only one-tenth of the volume of an iceberg appears visible above the water.

So it is with a training event.  The actual bit that people see, the training day itself, is only a very small part of the whole.  Lurking beyond the vision of participants and attendees lies the vast bulk of time the trainer has expended in creating the event.  There are meetings with clients.  There is topic research.  There is the design of multiple presentation aids.  There is the organisation of exercise materials.  There is the writing and formatting of a workbook.

And this is without mention of a Training Needs Analysis, that luxurious exercise when a client actually allows a trainer – oh the bliss! – to speak to the attendees themselves prior to the training in order to accurately gauge their needs, present levels of skill, preferred learning styles, etc.

All this takes time, of course.  Time that the client doesn’t really ‘see’.  Time that s/he is therefore reluctant to pay for… or even acknowledge the existence of.  (Something similar applies to business coaches and writiers, website developers, artwork designers and other professionals.)

“Can’t you just come and, you know, do one of your talks?  Can’t I just pay you for that?”

My ‘talks’!?  OK, firstly, I’m not an after dinner speaker.  I’m a professional training consultant with two degrees and a specialist training qualification.  Second, the material that I use in my training did not come to life by itself, by a sort of spontaneous generation; I created it ex nihilo, over a period of time.  Third, I have honed my ability to teach adults over the course of years, and through dint of hard work and continuing professional development I have acquired some expertise in the same.  All this is what you’re paying for, all this is what lies below the surface and props up the little bit that you see on the day!

I’m tempted to say to such, “If you can do better, go ahead and try.”  But the problem is that they would.  Try, that is, not succeed.  After all, its only giving a talk, isn’t it?  Its only for the sake of ticking boxes, isn’t it?  Any of your junior HR staff could do it too, couldn’t they?  And probably already are…

My answer: What happens when you don’t respect the full size of an iceberg?  Ask the Titanic!

There are a fair few latter-day ‘titanics’ roaming the commercial waters of Northern Ireland at the moment.  They’re enjoying themselves, spending money on relative luxuries, but scrimping on the one thing that really matters – a highly skilled, highly motivated i.e. highly trained workforce.

I suppose there’s something to be said for sinking with dignity.  But personally, I think its preferable to acknowledge the real size of the iceberg… and stay afloat!

Image credit: pululante.