To say that ongoing staff training is more important than ever is an understatement. According to the Harvard Business Review, “A generation ago, the half-life of the value of a skill was approximately 26 years. Now the half-life is often less than 5 years.”
How has that impacted companies’ investments in training? Looking at calendar year 2023, the HBR article "Help Your Employees Develop the Skills They Really Need" noted, “It is perhaps not surprising that, globally, corporations are expected to invest more than $380 million in learning and development programs this year.” And that was 3 annual budget cycles ago.
That’s a lot of money, and, obviously, a big challenge for businesses, big and small. How much should you spend on training, and where should you put those dollars for maximum staff success?
The 70-20-10 Rule
One popular approach to training is called the 70-20-10 rule. Developed in the 1980s by researchers at the Center for Creative Leadership, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, this business model holds that individuals “obtain 70% of their knowledge from job-related experiences, 20% from interactions with others, and 10% from formal educational events.”
Training Examples
The international 702010 Institute, based in both London and the Netherlands, offers examples of each kind of training.
• 70%
Examples of learning through job-related experiences: problem solving, challenging tasks, other responsibilities/roles, reviewing and auditing, reflection, and innovation.
• 20%
Examples of learning by interacting with colleagues: coaching and mentoring, collaborating, and exchanging feedback.
• 10%
Examples of learning through what’s called “formal intervention”: classes, workshops, e-learning, and seminars.
These 3 types of learning can overlap and often do. For example, some on-the-job learning can include applying what one has learned in formal training and sharing that information with others.
Fun + Free
Here’s one no-cost way to train employees and enhance service: Give each staff member an index card and ask them to jot down one thing they’re going to do in the next week to enhance the customer experience. After that week is over, meet for 10 to 15 minutes and ask each person to talk about what they did differently and how it went. This is a great way to enhance customer service and train staff in an informal and positive setting.
The Reality
That being said, researchers at the Institute of Labor Economics based in Bonn, Germany, have found that, regardless of locale, “Most firms do not have adequate human resource management strategies to optimize informal learning in the workplace.” In other words, though people report learning the most by working on the job and interacting with team members, formal education, whether offsite or in the workplace, remains the gold standard for successful training in most companies.
Some Sources
Formal education can take many forms. That’s certainly the case in optical, and ways to obtain professional training without breaking the bank include professional associations/organizations, vendors/suppliers, purchasing groups, and trade shows. For insight into preparing your team to tackle trade shows, click here.
Make sure you are able to share what you've learned by taking notes and sharing key takeaways with your team.