People are valuable assets - invest wisely

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Patricia Hewitt recently advised companies that they should be evaluating their investment in employees on a more strategic level.

Ms Hewitt made the point: 'Many factors combine to make a truly great company. However, at the centre of any outstanding organisation, you will find its most valuable resource – people.'

It is true; employees are undoubtedly any company’s most important asset and underpin business performance. For many companies this is well recognised and training programmes have been implemented to develop and strengthen their skills.

However, if learning is to really propel both employees and businesses forward, it must be linked to strategic company objectives, as well as meet the needs of each individual.

Learning needs to be strategic
It is not uncommon for organisations to only implement a learning programme when they need to address a short-term skills gap. However, the reality is that this is often expensive and ineffective.

Learning can only successfully benefit individual and company performance when it is viewed as a long-term investment. This means companies need to think seriously about their objectives before they embark on a learning programme. For example, where are they now, where do they want to be in say five years time and what anticipated changes will take place in this time frame?

By carefully examining their goals, organisations can put in place a strong learning programme which not only addresses the skills that employees need immediately to progress, but also the skills that are going to be vital for organisational progression in five years time.

Viewing e-learning as a long-term investment and ensuring that it is strategically implemented will reap rewards.

Unsurprisingly, it is those companies that are most successful in their market sector today, that have truly understood the real value of their people and have made a strategic investment in training and development.

In an economy that is just starting to recover, managers are faced with challenges such as organisational change, new business objectives and fewer staff to carry out multiple tasks.

These challenges mean, that companies need to see real business improvements that positively impact on their organisations bottom line quickly and effectively. It is only by becoming more strategic in approach that e-learning can be an invaluable tool in assisting managers to adjust to these changing business demands.

Make sure your organisation is taking a strategic approach to learning

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