Getting the Most from your Existing Workforce

With the recession in full swing, community sector organisations should consider looking towards developing their internal workforce as the option to undergo costly recruitment procedures may not be available. Obviously, for more specialised roles this may not be the best option for some organisations but for many roles, there is definitely an opportunity to develop staff roles and in doing so can be of great benefit to your organisation.

The role of training has become a lot more prominent in the modern working world and can provide benefits to both employees and employers. Over the last decade there has been a new found ethos in society promoting education as a key aspect to success. This has encouraged more people to consider further education and training to improve their knowledge and in doing so they improve their value as an employee

Many organisations use free seminars as a way of hearing expert opinions and very often the topics covered can be a benefit to employers. It is worth looking at these invitations or even looking online to find seminars being held within your area. Many have talks from a variety of professionals and can provide information applicable to your particular situation.

Mentoring is another great tool that employers can take advantage of and utilises the skills and experience of more mature members of staff within an organisation. This is a good way of utilising experience is more complex job roles and can help to make an employee’s transition into a future job role a lot easier. This is again a great way to promote loyalty as staff can visualise future prospects within your organisation.

E-Learning is now a popular choice for many employers and can offer a more time-efficient method of further training than college courses. They are able to be undertaken at the employee’s leisure and can therefore be better fit into a busier working schedule. They are also very cost effective and in many cases can be undertaken by a large section of the workforce by running a workshop on a particular subject.

Organisations that offer employees tuition assistance are able to develop a skilled workforce without having to pay out a substantial amount. Putting in place an agreement that the employee will continue with their employment for a certain period of time will ensure that the investment is not wasted whilst at the same time encourage loyalty. Also, the courses that are undertaken may have applications to other areas of your organisation and so you are able to gain an added flexibility to your workforce.

Looking at your current human resources is a must during the recession and by utilising the talent that you have available, you will be in a better position to come through the recession a lot fitter and more knowledgeable. Look at the long term benefits to training investment rather than the initial costs and weigh up the benefits of the increased effectiveness of a more knowledgeable workforce against the cost before making a solid decision.

Top 5 Tips;

• Free seminars can provide a different insight into the way in which you run your organisation.
• Rotating job roles can help develop a broader skilled workforce. 
• Mentoring utilises existing talent and experience.
• E-Learning can be time and cost-effective and are ideal when looking to train a larger portion of a workforce. 
• College courses offer the opportunity to gain a more knowledgeable workforce.