When you focus too hard on cost you tend to lose sight of value.

The biggest pocket burner for agencies isn’t the headline figure they measure against, but the consequence of ignoring the importance of training altogether.

Agencies should really be asking what the cost of not investing in training will be?

 

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Most of us learnt on the job through a baptism of fire and it didn’t stop us finding a path to becoming top billers and running successful agencies.

That said, how much faster would we have made that journey with the right development? How much more would agencies profit if the right training tackled poor processes, misuse of systems and bridged where KPIs actually broke down?

When you see training as an expense over an investment it will always cost you more than you’re willing to pay.

You pay when staff leave

Recruitment is an industry with a notoriously high churn rate, so anything that combats that will directly affect your agency’s bottom line.

It costs to source new recruiters, to dedicate time to interviewing, inducting and developing them. It’s time that could be better allocated in your company and a high churn rate can hamstring growth.

Typically it takes 28 weeks for an employee to reach peak performance and costs an estimated £30,000 upwards to replace a hire. Think about how many hires have left over the last two years and do the math.

Once you’ve found the right fit you’ll want to invest in them and give them a reason to stay. If top talent aren’t learning or progressing then they’ll be looking for somewhere where they will.

IBM suggest that employees are twelve times more likely to get itchy feet if they’re unable to progress towards their career goals.

It’s a mutual relationship that reverses churn rates. It also means the teams that teams grow together will perform better as a result.

The wrong training will cost you

The absence of a well considered strategy means you might not be targeting the areas that really need the attention. It might also mean your budget runs dry before you start seeing the intended results.

You have to consider where the training is needed over what’s desired or best practice.

It should never be a box ticking exercise that’s rolled out across the company, but anchored to the performance metrics of your team. That way it will bridge the gaps it needs to and deliver a real return.

Every agency is different, uses different systems and learns differently, so you need to personalise your training to reflect the needs of your agency.

Training should be valuable, applicable and measurable where possible. If your training forgets this then the areas that need attention may go unchecked and productivity pays the price.

It will cost you talent

Over 5,000 agencies are setting up each year, so in a crowded market what identifies you from the others?

Training is ongoing and applies to every stage of a career. Does the development and training you have speak to the talent you want to attract?.

If you don’t intend in investing in your staff then you’ll need some very attractive reasons to keep them invested in you.

A good progression ladder allows you to grow the team of senior managers you want rather than source outside fits.

Ineffective training will cost you

Sending your entire team away for a weekend conference or a day of intensive talks in a hotel lobby might not deliver the returns you want.

Anything that takes your team away for hours and hours is going to cost your agency. It will pinch your bottom line and probably not deliver the ROI that you need.

How does your team learn best and do you have the vehicles available to deliver training to them in that way?

Technology and innovation in this space have changed the way training can be delivered so that it’s digestible, flexible and more effective.

The biggest cost of recruitment training is the missed opportunities that come from not properly investing in it.

It starts by changing attitudes towards training and moving the question from cost to value.

 

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-Russell