Full Description

• Budget for training and development
• Motivate your staff to participate in training and development
• Efficiently implement and coordinate your training and development programs
• Effectively communicate the goals and processes of your training program
• Measure return on investment in training programs
• Create a “training and development culture” in your firm
• Establish where to go for the appropriate training for your staff
• Determine the right amount of training for various staff types
• Find cost-effective training alternatives
• Ensure that your successful training and development program improves the bottom line

Without continued learning and professional development, a firm can become stagnant and stale. Employees can feel stunted in their professional growth and seek opportunities elsewhere. Most firm leaders understand this on some level and recognize the value of a dynamic, effective training program for their managers, technical professionals, and administrative staff. The problem is that many of these same leaders are stumped when it comes to developing an efficient, workable process for ensuring that the company provides sufficient training to its employees.

A/E Training & Development Cookbook will show firm leaders how to measure success in training programs, how to motivate their staff to participate in training and development, how to efficiently implement and coordinate their training and development program, and how others have successfully created a "training and development culture" in their firms. It will also give them insight into the type of training their firm should seek and where or how they might find it. As an A/E firm principal, manager, or human resources professional, you may struggle with the same dilemma about training that many of us do with vitamins in our diets; we know training is necessary, but we’re not sure how and where to get it, what kinds are best, and how much is the right amount.

A/E Training & Development Cookbook won’t help you eat healthier, but it will fill you up with strategies, ideas, and examples that can help your firm do a better job of nourishing the need for better, more efficient, and more effective training and staff development.

Contents

Foreword

• The tyranny of utilization
• An improving landscape
• Other training obstacles

• Better work environment
• Increased productivity
• Higher quality

• Management buy-In
• Budgeting for training
• Making training a priority

• Establish a task force
• Assess your current situation
• Prioritize
• Include different kinds of training
• Write it down
• Put somebody in charge 
• Stay committed

• Management
• Training professional/HR
• Staff
• Outsiders

• Project managers
• Executives
• Technical people
• Non-technical people

• In-house training
• Multimedia
• Outside training
• Online training
• Corporate universities 
• Traditional vs. unconventional

• Common mistakes
• Effective methods

• Establishing a baseline
• Quantifying the benefits

• Invest for the long term
• Hold people accountable
• Participate
• Keep it fresh

Chapter 11: A/E Training and Development Case Studies