5 ideas for training on a budget

Not for profit organisations have been hard hit by the economic downturn over the last 12 to 18 months, and when savings have to be made, training, learning and development is usually one of the first things to go.  However, this can be a false economy, as slashing funds for training means your staff don’t develop at the same rate and your organisation becomes less efficient and productive.

However, with a bit of creative thinking, there are plenty of ways to provide your employees with training opportunities when funds are tight. Here are TPP’s top ideas for training on a budget:


1.  Use your existing staff
There are several ways to use your current employees to assist with learning and development.  Find out if your members of staff and in-house volunteers have any skills they can communicate to others, and appoint internal mentors to guide the development of more junior staff.  This is particularly useful for ‘soft skills’, such as communications and team management.

You could choose to make one member of staff a ‘champion’ for a particular topic.  Once they have received training, they should then be responsible for communicating their learnings to other employees.  This has the added advantages of cementing the knowledge in the employee champion and creating an in-house support service for queries regarding that topic.

Encouraging your employees to take part in internal secondments or shadowing also allows them the opportunity to learn from other members of staff and teams.


2.  Share resources
You can get more from your training budget by partnering with other organisations.  For example, banding together with sister organisations or other charities to offer joint courses will bring down your training cost per head.  Or do a skills swap with another organisation, where you share knowledge and experience between you.

The Small Charities Coalition facilitates the sharing of skills, experience and expertise between charities, and is completely free to join.  Even larger organisations can benefit through sharing their skills with others.

Investigate any private sector companies your organisation has contact with, such as corporate donors or service suppliers.  Do they run in-house training programmes your staff could piggyback on?  Of course, this training will not be charity-specific but could still be useful.

Encouraging your employees to volunteer or become a trustee in another not for profit organisation is another great way to bring new knowledge and skills into your charity.


3.  Look for freebies

If you know where to look, there can be many opportunities for free training for your staff.  The key is to make the best use of your network of suppliers, partners and membership organisations.

Private sector firms who work with the third sector often offer free training, eg TPP Not for Profit runs a series of professional development seminars, and solicitors’ firms often hold regular legal updates for their clients.  Simply googling “free <topic> training for charities” can usually bring up some interesting possibilities.

Membership organisations, such as the NCVO, IoF or CIPD, often run training sessions that are discounted or free for their member organisations.  Investigate what is included in your membership and make sure you are getting the most from the fees. 

Charity Days and the NFP Academy organise free training for not for profit organisations, and their websites are well worth a visit.  There are also opportunities to get funding for learning and development, such as the InterChange funding for leadership and management training.

Check out the blog comments below for some free training courses coming up soon.


4.  Investigate online training

The huge growth of the Internet has brought a wealth of resources for online learning and development, often specially aimed at not for profit organisations.

Knowhow NonProfit have a wealth of career development information, most of it completely free of charge, including videos, training courses, articles and discussion forums.

The Media Trust website has a wide range of articles on marketing and communications topics for not for profit organisations.

The Charity Learning Consortium offers a wide range of eLearning for their members.


5.  Get value for money

Sometimes, paying for training is unavoidable, so you need to make sure you get the best possible return on your investment.  Investigate running courses in-house using small training providers or consultants, as this can be less expensive than sending multiple staff members on external courses.  It also has the added advantage that the course content will be tailored for your organisation.

If you are investing with any new suppliers, eg of any new software, make sure that training is included for free or at a discount in the initial agreement.  In addition, when creating new PSLs, why not ask suppliers if they can offer any training as part of the deal?


Summary

As you can see, there are ways to continue to provide opportunities for learning and development to your staff while keeping training budgets tight.  However, your organisations will always need to invest some funds in training to make sure employees remain efficient and productive.

TPP Not for Profit is a big supporter of investing in learning and development, as it helps to keep staff motivated and reduce turnover, and makes your organisation more attractive to new recruits.  Don’t forget to check out our programme of free seminars.

We are also speaking at and sponsoring several upcoming events, such as the Third Sector Social Media Convention and the IoF Annual Convention.

The 3 stages of a successful exit interview

An exit interview is an interview conducted by an employer with a departing employee. They can be conducted via face-to-face or telephone interviews, or through paper or online surveys.

Exit interviews are a useful tool for:

• Enabling the transfer of knowledge and experience from the departing employee to a replacement or team
• Providing an early warning about sexual harassment, workplace violence and discrimination issues and measuring the success of diversity initiatives
• Finding out employees' perceptions on everything from your organistaion's culture to the office facilities and making improvements

It is important to put a positive spin on your findings from exit interviews and ensure they are used to generate suggestions for improvement, as this will help attract and retain talent in your organisation.

Exit interviews are particularly useful as they provide more objective feedback than attitude surveys among existing staff, as departing employees tend to feel free to be more forthcoming, constructive and impartial than staff still in their jobs.

Despite this usefulness, past research from TPP has established that although most employers say their organisations hold interviews with leavers, only 42% of employees have ever had an exit interview.



To ensure you get the maximum benefit from your exit interviews, there are three key stages to follow:

1.    Be prepared

The key to a successful exit interview lies in the preparation. Nothing is more frustrating than an interviewer who isn't ready, willing or able to conduct a productive exit session.

Draw up an assessment or a list of questions and areas for discussion on the basis of the individual's achievements and performance, eg:

• Was their performance consistent?
• Did they frequently demonstrate initiative?
• How was their relationship with other members of staff?

Common questions include reasons for leaving, job satisfaction, frustrations and feedback concerning company policies or procedures. Questions may relate to the work environment, supervisors, compensation, the work itself and the company culture.

• Preparation is just as important for the employee; both sides will gain a great deal from the exercise if the employee is pre-warned and has time to formulate their thoughts in advance.
• There is a chance that some employees will use the interview as an opportunity to rail against their managers, colleagues or the organisation. Providing a mechanism to focus their thoughts may help avoid this, such as following a set list of questions.
• Find a comfortable and quiet room and reduce the possibility of interruptions.

2.    Be Objective

It can sometimes be difficult to hear criticism of your employer, particularly for not for profit staff, who often have a strong emotional attachment to their organisation.  It is therefore vital to remember that the goal of an exit interview is to extract information that can be used for positive change and it is in your interest to be objective.  Exit interviews are only of use if you can look beyond your immediate emotional response and make practical and rational plans for the future.

Try to remain impartial, rather than emotional, and to ask open questions that encourage honest and considered responses, while avoiding leading and limiting questions.

Don’t just listen to what an employee has to say.  Like a normal interview, an employee’s body language can give you valuable insights into their true feelings, which can then be explored in more depth using specific work situations to put them into context.

Exit interview can be conducted by a relatively neutral party, such as a human resources staff member rather than a line manager, so that the employee will be more inclined to be candid, as opposed to worrying about burning bridges.  Some companies even opt to employ a third party to conduct the interviews and provide feedback.


3.    Be appreciative

Whatever the employee’s reasons for leaving and however critical they are in the exit interview, endeavour to ensure that they leave the interview in a positive frame of mind.  Don’t forget to thank the employee for their work for your organisation and their co-operation in the interview, and be positive about the feedback they provide.  If your organisation has benefited from the skills and dedication of the employee, the exit interview is the right time to express your appreciation for their contribution to your business.

If the person leaving is a loss to the company, it is likely you will want to leave the door open for them to return.  But even if they are not likely to return, a disgruntled ex-employee with contacts in your sector can undo months of positive brand-building.  The exit interview is a final chance to ensure they leave with a positive view of your organisation.


Summary

A successful exit interview will extract information that will assist the organisation in recruiting a replacement. It can also facilitate improvement to achieve greater employee job satisfaction and to become an employer of choice.

If you decide to use a recruitment consultancy such as TPP Not for Profit to find a successor for your ex-employee, don’t forget to feed back the knowledge gained from your exit interview, as this will assist us to find a successful and long-term replacement candidate.