Training managers should be more than just salesmen

By Simon Potter

JAKARTA (JP): Human Resource Development (HRD) is now widely recognized throughout the world as being perhaps the single most effective measure to bring about productivity improvements. It is often said that a company's best asset is it's people, but sadly this often remains an empty slogan.

Too often a company's capital is expended on other projects, and the need to develop its people remains unaddressed, despite the best efforts of the Human Resource Department.

Such departments are often set up, especially in new companies, with the best intentions in the world, but in the day- to-day operation of the business their interests, and their programs are often relegated to the bottom of the totem pole.

The reasons for this are manifold. Many managers can feel threatened by the prospect of training up the brightest and best of their new recruits. And those in positions of power often resent the success of their subordinates and will not help them up the corporate ladder.

Others see training as a waste of time, money and effort. Managers resent the fact that training conducted in office hours takes people out of their department. Their focus is on short term results and not the long term gain.

Similarly, if asked to conduct training sessions, many managers feel this to be an imposition on them and their valuable time.

Again, they lack the foresight to realize the benefits that can accrue from the sharing of knowledge, the discussion of problems and the development of open and frank communication between themselves and their subordinates.

And employees too are often opposed to spending time in training. Many feel they are `too old to learn', or that they know enough already to do their job competently.

And they will undoubtedly also resist any training sessions scheduled for after office hours unless they are suitably remunerated.

Again, like their bosses, they fail to see the benefits for themselves and the company alike. Training leads to increased competence and understanding, which can lead to greater job satisfaction. It also leads to promotion and more money.

Human Resource Development in all but the most enlightened companies usually comes last on the list of corporate priorities. Lack of funds, lack of time, the feeling that `now is not a good time', or that the company's people don't need training, are all cited as reasons why a company should not invest in HRD.

And even if the company has a established program, the HRD manager finds it very difficult to make his voice heard at budget meetings, when more often than not the production manager and the sales manager grab all the limelight.

And this will be the case until the HRD manager learns how to sell his department to the company.

It has been my experience that HRD managers like nothing better than to complain to a sympathetic listener that there is never any money for their department, that the board never listens to their ideas, that their department is always last in the pecking order.

And all this might be true, but it is not the job of the good HRD manager to complain. It is his job to put his department and his programs at the top of the agenda.

And the only way to do this is to sell, and to sell the benefits. Sell the benefits of HRD to the board, to the undoubtedly demoralized HRD department, to the company employees who stand to benefit the most.

The good HRD manager has to be a better salesman than the sales manager if he is to achieve this. But there is no reason why he shouldn't be.

And as an HRD manager faced with the problem of selling your department, you should always begin by asking yourself this question:

`Who am I selling to and how can my department specifically help this person in his current situation?'

Remember that you may need to sell the same thing to different people, and that your answers to the above question will vary according to whom you are selling to. So for example, an English language course will have different benefits for the participants, their managers, and your CEO (Chief Executive Officer).

But if you can answer this question satisfactorily, and if you can convince your `customer' of the benefits to him, you will succeed every time, and you will soon see the benefits for yourself.

No longer will you be the last person consulted in meetings, no longer will an air of depression pervade the HRD department and you will soon be the object of new-found respect from the lowest employee right up to the chairman of the board.

The benefits for the individuals in your company will depend on the details of your situation. Certain universal concepts can, however, be invoked to back up your argument, not the least of which is that of Human Capital.

Human capital is basically the concept that people are a valuable resource, which can yield dividends, just like other forms of capital, only much more widely dispersed.

Human capital is basically the sum total of knowledge, skills and aptitudes of the people working in your company. It includes initiative, resourcefulness, capacity for sustained work, good values, interests, attitudes and other human qualities conducive to higher output and accelerated growth. The concept of Human Capital is based on the following premises:

* That economic growth is in a large measure attributable to human skills rather than capital resources.

* That investments in human resources are directly related to economic development and growth by promoting the knowledge of an application of science and technology.

* That human resource development is not only a social precondition of economic growth, but also a major prerequisite of equality and justice.

And the benefits of investing in human capital are many:

* Unlike other investments, it does not depreciate or lose its value over time or during the period of its use. On the contrary, if greater use is made of investment in knowledge, skills and experience, the company's employees will represent greater capital value and a higher rate of return.

* And human resource development is not merely a means to an end, but also an end in itself. It increases an individual's sense of pride, encourages involvement and creativity, and motivates to achieve.

* While it may be difficult to measure the "rate of return" in quantitative terms, it is recognizable in qualitative terms in the improved skills and increased knowledge of the company's employees, and their heightened sense of dignity.

* The income-yielding capacity of investment in training and education are spread out over a much longer time-span -- say the 30 or 40 years of an average working life. And if you ensure that learning is a continuous process, the company will see the progressive improvement of that income over time.

* Finally, human resource development based on equality of opportunity tends to bring about a better distribution of wealth, which is beneficial to the whole of society.

And the list could go on and on. Such arguments will be useful to have in your armory as a salesman. But you will only be successful if you can detail the benefits for each of your customers.

You know the benefits of your programs. Sell them to your customers!

The writer is a business analyst with IMPAC, the American productivity specialists.