WorldWide Drilling Resource

37 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MAY 2014 Management Tips by Tim Connor Is training an investment or a cost from your perspective? “Change. It has the power to uplift, to heal, to stimulate, surprise, open new doors, bring fresh experience, and create excitement in life.” Leo Buscaglia During the years, many of my clients have chosen to see investing in their people as an investment and not as a cost of doing business. Others have cut back on training when the economy was spiraling downward or out of control. Their rationale was to cut back and invest in their employees when more cash was available. So, what can you do if your business is in a stagnant mode, or declining? What can you do if customers are harder to find? Three options: Wait it out patiently. Do nothing. Use your available resources to improve the motivation, morale, skills, attitudes, and performance of your most valuable asset - your employees. Training is a cost when: It is done poorly. It is done too late. Too little is done. It doesn’t touch everyone. It is not reinforced. It doesn’t relate to where you are headed. Training is an investment: • Because it tells your people you care about them. • Because many people are asked to do more in difficult times, but are not given the skills, recognition, and appreciation needed to weather the storm. • Because your only source of rev- enue is your people. Yes, I know. You need trucks, equipment, com- puters, and pencils - but in the long run it is your people who make effec- tive use of all these capital expen- ditures. • Because your people touch your customers every day. What mes- sages are they sending as they sell to them, collect from them, service them, etc? • Because there are two ways to improve the bottom line - generate more income, and reduce redun- dant, wasteful costs. Your people are responsible for both. I could go on, but I will leave you with a simple question. Do you see train- ing as an investment in your present and future success, or do you see it as a cost that can be put off until there is more cash in the bank? During challenging economic times, companies which continue to invest in employee effectiveness always emerge more successful than those that cut train- ing budgets and have a “wait and see” mind-set. In His service, Tim To receive Tim’s weekly FREE motivational booster articles, contact him at www.timconnor.com with “please add me to your free booster e-mail subscriber list” in the subject line. Or contact him via e-mail at admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com