Use a career coach not another company training programme

Declaring an interest here, as I am career coach, but it's true that companies are wasting money on ill-thought out, generic employee training programmes when one-to-one career management coaching with individual employees would work so much better in building engagement, alleviating staff churn and improving performance. It would also be cheaper. As explained in this Fast Company article, Your Company Needs an In-house Career Coach, Not Another Training Program, expenditure on training programmes is on the rise, but is staff engagement? According to McKinsey researchers only one in four employers thought these courses were worthwhile.

While some corporate, personal/professional development or awayday courses are great and worth every penny, most prompt us to ask why did we take a day out of the office for that ? We had little connection to the material being delivered and ultimately felt the whole event was a sticking plaster or box ticking exercise.

Is a day spent making a video dressed up as characters from the Wizard of Oz (yes, it happened) really going to make the team more cohesive and effective, and individuals more engaged and fpcused?

Wouldn't a programme of sessions with a neutral career coach actively listening to and coaching employees around their career development render better results? Wouldn't those team members feel heard and rejevenated by this? Wouldn't they appreciate plan of action that looks at their future both within and without that organisation? Helping staff to manage their career does not mean they will jump ship, indeed my clients tend to stay with their organisations after coming to see me for help. They just gain the clarity that is necessary for them to move forward.

Check out coach's day rates, they're affordable and they can see mutiple people in a single day. Alternatively, as most are self employed, they can work part time on a retainer for your organsation, being available for staff, but not part of the organisation and thus retaining the objectivity and bird's eye view that is so necessary in these situations.