by Christine Grech Wendin and PC Computing Business Labs December 1999

Taken from PC Computing Magazine - Dec. 1999 Issue

More than half—54 percent—of the white-collar workers we surveyed reported that they don't have the technical skills they need to do their jobs. Think about that when the pilot on your next flight sits down in the cockpit. In reality, technical workers such as pilots tend to get the lion's share of training budgets. It's that vast range between the mail room and the corner office—from administrative assistants to sales reps and marketing managers—that get shortchanged in training.

Obviously, learning to click on the Reply button in an e-mail package is a far cry from learning to use e-mail efficiently and effectively. Market research departments that rely on all-purpose Web search engines require bigger staffs and longer hours to return the same results as departments better versed in Internet resources. Sales managers who agonize over Power Point slides waste time that could be spent making sales calls.

Smart employees eventually develop the skills they need—through trial and grope. But at what cost to your company's bottom line? When PC Computing Business Labs put workers who relied on Microsoft Excel through an Excel training course, their productivity jumped as much as 37 percent. On average, this frees up about 200 hours per employee each year—or more than $5,000US a head.

It's curious that companies resist investing in training, given the obvious return on investment. Many managers feel they can't look beyond current-quarter results for any financial decision. Others believe that with the high employee turnover in today's marketplace, training ultimately helps the competition. But these attitudes affect both productivity and morale. As one employee at a large Internet company reported, "It seems like most bosses don't care how something is done or how many hours it takes, so long as it gets done."

Providing the opportunity is only half the ticket. To reap the benefits of training, you have to be aggressive. One large technology company in our audit offered a generous $2,000-per-employee education benefit. Yet the vast majority of workers didn't take advantage of it. Employers who encourage training—with merit pay, promotions, and other incentives—may be surprised by the results. Most of the employees in our audit said they'd attend training classes after hours. As one respondent reported, "The training I've done on my own time has more than doubled my work capacity."