Five Ways to Help Your Team Develop their Professional Skills in a Tight Economy

In a tight economy, professional development is one of the budget cuts often made. While this is sometimes necessary, pulling back from providing development opportunities can be short sighted. Here are a few ways to keep your team learning while not breaking the bank.

Keep it a priority. Instead of "professional development" being the first thing to be cut, how about looking at other line items such as meal expenses, excess office supplies, or professional services that may be a bit overdone?

Consider local opportunities. There are still businesses out there that provide training classes that may not require your team to travel. Search "professional education" in your area and check out options.

Watch for community programs. Sometimes, recreation departments or places such as the local library offer educational seminars for a very reasonable fee. (For example, my husband and I are leading a financial literacy workshop on a Saturday morning where the registration fee is only $6 for non-residents!)

Search for online courses and webinars. Online options abound and provide flexibility for your team, without the expense of travel.

Bring in a speaker. Many small business people (such as myself!) would jump at the chance to come to your workplace to teach on a particular topic. Don't restrict yourself to the high cost experts. Ask around for good recommendations. You may be surprised at who is a good teacher in your very own town!

Allow a small budget for reading materials or association memberships. Allow all employees, including support staff, to spend $25 a year on a periodical, association membership, or online service that they feel will help them grow personally and professionally. Most companies can afford this small gesture, and it can have a big payoff, particularly if you let your employees pick what they would most be interested in.

Remember soft skills. You don't have to limit your team to industry-specific training. Consider workshops in time management, getting organized, wellness, customer service, financial literacy, etc.

Check your own resources. What skills do your employees have? Is there someone who would love the chance to teach on a topic such as time management? Notice the employees that excel in certain skills and give them the opportunity to share their knowledge. Maybe pay them a bit of a bonus for it! You may be grooming a great speaker.

Read together. Pick a great business book and have all employees read a section per week. Spend 10 minutes of staff meeting discussing the book. Give incentives for keeping up with reading and/or make it required.

There are many ways to keep your team sharp without sending them across the country for an expensive conference. Brainstorm creative ideas rather than cut the budget entirely.

Special note: sometimes, support staff is left out of "professional development." This is a BIG mistake. Not only does it contribute to a fractured culture, it sends the message that their work is not as important when in fact, the support staff is often the foundation of your company. ALWAYS include support staff in some type of professional development plan.