Asking Your Manager For Training & Development – 5 Best Practices
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Companies need strong employees in order to survive and thrive in the business world. A strong employee is someone that understands the company’s business practices and looks for ways to improve employee relations, increase technical skills and strengthen their position in the company.
Ongoing training and development is crucial to all of these practices. Asking your manager to cover the expenses for seminars and training sessions can be daunting, but with careful planning and research, you have a better chance at getting the green light.
1.) Be Specific About What Type of Training That You Want and Why
First of all, understand your weak spots. Are they computer related? Do you feel as if you could get more out of your job if you took a seminar specifically tailored for mastering Microsoft Excel?
Maybe you and your co-workers sometimes have issues with time-management or communication. These are issues that every manager deals with. Make a list of 3-5 seminars that you believe to be beneficial to yourself and the company.
2.) Do Your Research
Once you narrow down the specific issues that you’d like to deal with, find out which seminars would best suit your needs. Find out their locations and costs. Include the cost of lodging and travel arrangements.
3.) Highlight the Benefits
Who will be affected by this training? Can it increase the bottom line? Will it lead to better employee productivity? These are the questions that your manager will have. Try to understand your manager’s point of view so that you can gauge what types of questions he or she will have.
4.) Get Multiple Opinions from Co-Workers
Get your co-worker’s opinions on what they believe what type of training would be most beneficial. If you are able to rally enough support there are certain organizations that will come to you. They can hold in-house programs that will benefit many people at once. This can be a very cost-effective way for companies to train employees.
5.) Be Prepared to Compromise
Your manager may already of his or her own ideas regarding training. Sometimes there are financial constraints that are placed on a company that can negate their ability to pay for training. Your boss may not be able to approve a 3 day seminar that’s 1000 miles away, but might be able to get you into a 6 hour seminar that is only a 2 hour drive from your current location. Make the most out of what you can get.
Karan Rhodes leads a global high potential leadership development program for a Fortune 50 company. She is also Executive Director of COSHPALD (The Consortium of Strategic High Potential Accelerated Leadership Development), whose signature program is The High Potential Leadership Accelerator. Her passion is encompassed in her personal motto, “Helping to make the best of the best . . . .even better!” You can access further information at http://www.coshpald.com and at Karan’s blog: http://www.1moveaway.com
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