As begin our first week EIDT 6501: Training and Development,
we were asked to create an elevator that could help convince someone that
training is important for their organization. In my elevator speech I highlight
a few points that I found to be factors that have an important impact on making
decisions on investing in training. These factors include linking training to
business strategies, employee engagement, and adding value to the organization
by getting a greater return on investment through taking a systematic approach
to identifying training that can attract and retain high quality and productive
employees. With that said, please take a moment to listen to my elevator
speech. Feedback on how to improve of course would be welcomed and the script
for the speech is located below.
Elevator
Speech Script:
Picture
your organization five or even ten years from now if you eliminated the vast
majority of all training programs that were not mandated by law or necessary for
training new hires at your organization. What would the climate of your
organization be? What would potential candidates think of your organization?
How might your employees react and how will you fill positions internally that
require advanced knowledge and skills or leadership training? The picture you
are envisioning might be one of stagnant growth and lack of employee
engagement. Ultimately, over time this will negative impact your organization’s
ability to maintain a completive edge in attracting and retaining high quality
skilled employees as well as potentially negatively impact the organization’s
productivity and growth due to lack of employee engagement (Noe, 2013).
I know
budgets are tight, but implementing effective training programs that take a
systematic approach and are linked to your business strategies will help your
organization maintain success (Noe, 2013). Our training team can help you
identify these business strategies in order to develop training initiative and
activities that will add value to your organization and help you to achieve a
greater return on your investment. We can help you overcome potential
challenges with attracting and retaining high quality and skilled employees by
providing training opportunities that promote your organization’s focus on
learning and developing skills as well as providing opportunities for professional
development including training on leadership skills (Noe, 2013). Additionally,
providing training opportunities that allow your employees to advance their
knowledge and skills will help to strengthen employee engagement which will
positive impact their commitment to the organization and their productivity
(Noe, 2013). New technologies are also available that can help your
organization provide training that can be accessed regardless of an employee’s
time constraints or location which will help you save on travel expenses that
may have been associated with training in the past.
If you
will allow me the opportunity to discuss with you in greater detail what your
organization’s goals and objectives are we can work together to identify how
training might help your organization to achieve those goals and continue to
maintain a competitive advantage by having a well-trained and high quality
workforce that is engaged and productive.
Noe, R. A. (2013). Employee training and development
(6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Hi, Amber,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your blog post! Your site has a nice clean look and feel that engages the reader, and I’m pleased to see that you were able to successfully embed the sound clip. I use Wordpress, and they seem to have dropped the ability to embed audio. I had to jump through some hoops, turning my audio clip into a YouTube video and linking to it, to get it to embed!
Your content was thorough and well-documented, and I’d like to offer you a coaching point on your elevator speech. When I listen, I like to picture myself in the elevator with the speaker, and I did so with eyes closed while listening to yours. There was a moment when I felt almost lost in the details – had I been there with you riding down to the lobby, I might have wondered “why is she telling me all this?” That is not to say that what you said is wrong or inappropriate; it wasn’t! It just felt, listening, like there was too much detail. How might you pare down to the high points in order to pique your listener’s interest? That, after all, is the main reason for an elevator speech. Doing so will set you up for a “yes” answer to your very solid closing statement!
Thank you again, and I look forward to reading your posts for the rest of the term!
Gordon
Hi Gordon,
DeleteI definitely agree with you that my elevator speech could be modified to be a bit more concise and shorter. In reviewing your elevator speech I really liked how you provided a specific example. I think if I were to redo my elevator speech I would provide a specific fact or brief example of adding value to the organization or department through training and how training can be cost effective through the use of new technologies.
Thanks for the feedback!
Amber
Hi Amber
ReplyDeleteAcknowledging financial side of training is a great way to frame the elevator speech as it enables you to discuss how to training benefits the organization while presenting strategies to minimize the organization’s investment in training by utilizing a strategic approach to needs assessment and development of initiatives and activities. You wrote “I know budgets are tight, but implementing effective training programs that take a systematic approach and are linked to your business strategies will help your organization maintain success (Noe, 2013). Our training team can help you identify these business strategies in order to develop training initiative and activities that will add value to your organization and help you to achieve a greater return on your investment”.
“Organizations must continue the operation of training and development even in times of tighter budgets. There are a number of different ways organizations can train their workforce with minimal expenditures... Other easy ways to decrease costs and increase the quality of training in your organization is through on-the-job training, using technology, offering online training, free webinars or simply formalizing the informal training that’s already occurring on a daily basis. By implementing some of these suggestions, you can increase the quality of your training offerings while incurring little to no cost” (Office of Personnel Management, n.d.). Emphasizing the cost effectiveness; collaboration with organizational stakeholders, and alignment with strategic objectives is an effective framing strategy for your elevator pitch to appeal to a numbers-driven training skeptic.
Heather
Reference
Office of Personnel Management. (n.d.). Training and development policy wiki, Low cost training options. Retrieved from: https://www.opm.gov/wiki/training/Low-Cost-Training-Options.ashx
Hi Heather,
DeleteThanks for reviewing my elevator speech! I see many similarities between presenting a convincing argument to invest in training initiatives and presenting a convincing argument for implementing performance improvement as we discussed in our last course EIDT 6500. I agree that focusing on the cost effectiveness is essential in gaining support for these initiatives from those in a decision making role. We have to be able to appeal to the financial aspect of developing training or other performance improvement interventions and view those making decisions on whether or not to proceed as a customer whether we are internal or external to the organization in order to sell our services and positively impact the success of the organization through our services.
Thanks!
Amber
Amber,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your elevator speech very much. You addressed the strengths of training for a company when it is developed and aligned with the company's strategic goals. In doing, this financial, product, and people gains can be planned and accomplished. Training aids in a company receiving a greater return on investment.
You also pointed out how training will not only teach employees the best work practices, but teach them skills and knowledge that will help them in their future growth with the company. Employees become proficient in the work the do and committed to the company, for they have the opportunity to grow and advance. Training can also develop a skill base and expertise in the company's employees that allows them to be a positive force in the community and industry they work.
As you stated, the use of new technologies makes it possible for training to take place from any location, at any time. The company will save on the expense of travel and the delay of time differences. Free technologies of today also makes training an affordable, beneficial investment.
Great post and elevator speech, Amber.
Gayle
Hi Gayle,
DeleteThanks for reviewing my elevator speech and your additional insights! I liked that you pointed out the impact that growing and developing employees can have a positive impact on the greater community. This definitely is a valid point! Providing training and development opportunities for employees helps them positively impact their profession and even developing skills that they can transfer into opportunities they pursue outside of work such as volunteer work.
Thanks again!
Amber
Amber,
ReplyDeleteYour speech made many good points. For a company to be successful they must spend money on training. Even with tight budgets, money must be spent in order to make money.
Hi Amber,
ReplyDeleteI love how you invited the listener to think ahead and to visualize what they wanted for their company. I also liked how you provided a solution to get there, training. I also liked how you stated that the company needed training to stay competitive. Great points and great elevator speech.
Maria
I enjoyed listening to your speech. You could do voice overs. :-)
ReplyDelete