Professional Development is becoming increasingly popular as employees look for ways to grow in their careers and increase their value to their company. This type of content can come in the form of online courses, in-person lectures, group workshops, and conferences. As a working professional, the idea of learning new skills from professionals sounds exciting and rewarding. Until it comes time to pay for them.
Many professionals are prevented from engaging in the PD training they want because they cannot afford it. However, the case can be made that if you are taking training that will make you a better employee, then the company that employs you should be picking up the tab. After all, they will benefit from all of the new skills you learn. Often, companies have a budget set aside for trainings that employees want to attend. The key is to know how to sell it to your manager.
Step #1: Determine The Skill You Want To Learn
Before you even consider pitching training to your supervisor, you must get crystal clear on the skill you want to learn. This is important because if you begin researching programs without a goal in mind, you will end up going in circles. Out of all the skills you could learn, including communication, leadership, productivity, or an industry-specific program, what skill will help you do your current job better?
Remember, if you are going to get your current company to pay for it, then it must benefit the work you are doing. If you are unsure, solicit feedback from your co-workers about what skills they believe you could improve upon. If possible, look at your last performance review and find the areas that you need the most improvement. Lastly, you can look at the positions you hope to be promoted too and what skills they require.
Step #2: Find A Reputable Company
The rise in PD trainings has also given rise to the number of companies who offer them. While these companies may be legit, they often lack the track record to warrant the use of precious budget dollars. The course you want to take might be valuable, but it has less of a chance of being approved your manager has never heard of the company hosting it. To increase your chances of getting your request approved, be sure to select content being offered by a well-known entity.
General Assembly is a leader in online educational training courses. Their classes offer instruction on several different types of IT-based programs. For a broader selection, Udemy offers reasonably priced on-demand courses on marketing, communications, leadership, management, and hundreds of other topics. What they have in common is they are both leaders in the online course space. When researching companies, find out how long they have been around and try to gather as many customer testimonials as possible.
Step #3: Give Examples On How Your New Skill Will Benefit The Company
As we mentioned earlier, if your employer is going to pay for your training, they need to know what is in it for them. The easiest way to get them on board is to tie what you are learning to your current role. When presenting the program, clearly outline all of the skills you will be learning. Then, call out specific examples of how those skills will improve your current work.
For example, if you want to take a course on communication skills, you could point out how much of your day is spent communicating with team members, people in other departments, and outside vendors. If your position requires you to oversee multiple employees, talk about how you will use what you learn in your leadership training to improve the performance of those you manage. It all comes down to how investing in your development will benefit the company.
Step #4: List The Outcomes and Milestones
For higher-priced trainings, listing out how your new learnings will benefit the company may not be enough. You may be required to list out exactly what outcomes they should expect if they send you to that pricey conference or purchase that expensive set of courses. They may also want to know what milestones you will present along the way to ensure they are getting the proper return on their investment.
Where possible, show direct ties between the training and possible increases in sales and overall revenue. Try to identify the various things you will be able to accomplish along the way as a result of your training. If the approving manager can see a roadmap to more money, they will be more likely to sign on.
Step #5: Close With A Reminder
Once you have clearly outlined what you want to learn and how it will benefit the company, you need to close by reminding them why you are doing this in the first place. You want to become a better employee to serve the company, its mission, and its customers better. You may be asking them to pay for it, but you are still the one spending your time and energy taking the course and learning the material.
It is worth reminding them that if you didn’t have a connection to the place where you work, you wouldn’t be spending your free time trying to bring more value to it. Help them to understand that by covering this cost, they are investing in an employee who is clearly already investing back in them. Closing with this reminder may just be the nudge you need to get your manager off the fence and onto your side.
Conclusion
No one should be denied the education or mentorship they seek due to cost. Anyone trying to become a better employee should be assisted by the company that will be reaping the benefits. The key is to do your research, set your goals, create a plan, and show your manager the enormous amount of benefits this type of investment can bring to you and your company.
