The Reluctant Entrepreneur: To Train or Not To Train

Shakespeare’s dilemma “to be or not to be” haunts every employer when it comes to training employees. For SME units this problem is compounded by the fact that employees usually leave after getting the necessary experience. Therefore if you train employees they will leave at a much faster pace, than if they were not trained. Given this situation the best option seems to be “DO NOT TRAIN”.

I joined a small Company way back in ’86, as their first MBA hire. We grew from a turnover of Rs 12 lacs/year with one factory to Rs 20 crores with 6 factories in the next seven years. Unusually, training was considered a normal requirement. All employees attend courses suited to their jobs regularly. I was sent to Asian Institute of Management to obtain an MBA degree. As far as attrition was considered there were two aspects. One, it was present but the scale did not suggest that because of training the rate of leaving the company was faster. Secondly, because of the interaction with other participants at training programs there was a constant flow of new ideas as well as increased network opportunities. This in turn benefited the Company through cost efficient methods, new customers and above all employees with a broader view.

Today, Quality, Delivery and Cost are at heart of any buying decision. It is now imperative to have trained manpower who understands the implications of not respecting the customers need for the Best Quality, at the lowest Cost and with the quickest Delivery schedule. To ensure this Companies have to deliver consistently at all levels of an organization. This can only be achieved with a trained workforce. That is why most quality certification making training mandatory.

We deal with MNC's and often hear, a particular employee is away from his seat for hours or days, he is in training. Two, very often the employee is rotated, so he may not leave but he is redeployed. The effect is that we get used to dealing with new “buyers”. The training imparted ensures that there is a standardised experience. MNC's like VOLVO or JOHN DEERE or Atlas Copco are close to 100 years old, so training must be important.

Training can be OJT. (On The Job) or special courses. Special courses can be in-house or conducted at the location specified by the trainers. Big or small training is a must. For a small company this means that they have to face the opening dilemma. Be that as it may be, in order to satisfy a customer an employee has to be trained for the present or the company will lose the customer. Hence it would be a bigger mistake to keep untrained people and lose customers than to train employees who might leave but the customer will surely stay.

Given that I also left the Company that trained me at a huge cost, it became easier to make training a part of Zarhak's genes. Training is also needed for owners/top managers. We invest money and time to ensure every employee gets trained and the results speak for themselves.

To stay in business the Company must train its employees on a continuous basis. The aspect of them leaving for greener pastures is separate and different measures must be take to keep trained manpower. These measures would mainly be to motivate the employees to stay by providing opportunity for growth, new challenges and a satisfying work environment. Notice I have not mentioned more pay. Personally, if an employee is staying just because he gets a fat increase every year, it would be in the interest of there company that such a person leaves, those motivated by money cannot be much use in the long term. SO “TRAIN” YOU MUST TO SURVIVE AND GROW.