You believe in training. Your CFO believes in cost cutting. How do you reconcile the two? The solution is finding ways to deliver more learning at less cost. SilkRoad's most recent TalentTalk Top Tips paper, 8 Ways to Reduce Training Costs, provides savvy suggestions to make a positive impact on the bottom line.

1. Top 8 Recipes to
REDUCE
TRAINING
COSTS

2. How do you
mix the two?
You believe in training.
Your CFO believes in
reducing costs.

3. Find the right
recipe to deliver
healthy servings
of training…
At a pared-down
cost.

4. Getting peers to learn
from each other is one of
the least expensive and
most effective training
techniques.
How do you choose the best ingredients?
1. ADD VARIETY
WITH SOCIAL
LEARNING

5. Try activities like after-action
reviews and knowledge cafes.
Techniques like these can make
learning social and fun.

6. People learn a lot informally. Maybe from a
boss, maybe from a book. Maybe they take time to
reflect on their work by writing in a journal every week.
2. SPICE IT UP
WITH INFORMAL
LEARNING

7. FACT (at least we think so):
Employees love informal learning.
Traditional coursework?
Not so much.

8. 3. FEAST ON
TRAINING VIA
YOUTUBE.

9. There are millions of training
videos on the Internet. Your
employees will pick the ones that
work best for them.
Encourage employees to seek them
out and share the best ones.

10. Often people do not really need a
training course, they just need
something to help them on the job.
Online help, a tip sheet, even a
tech support number can be
cheaper and more effective than
training.
4. DEVELOP A
TASTE FOR JOB
AIDS

11. KEEP IN MIND… Training won’t help if
lack of training isn’t the problem.

12. Most problems that exist in the organization are not due to poor training. If
the problem is motivation or personality, job design or organizational
structure, then you won’t solve the problem by dishing out more training.
5. CHECK YOUR
INGREDIENTS.

13. How do you make your company
a good place to work in general?
… A lot of it is on-the-job
training, combined with excellent
mentorship.”
Ben Horowitz

14. So, how do you keep track of the
training you want to provide?

15. Training can be hard to control when there are thousands of
employees and hundreds of different courses. Try using
learning management software and you will have the
opportunity to slice and dice your training ‘til it’s just right.
6. TRACK YOUR TRAINING
WITH A PROVEN LEARNING
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

16. There are times when
eLearning is just as effective
as, and much cheaper than,
in-person training.
See if you can take
programs, or parts of
programs, and put them online
as a way to save money.
7. PLAN A BALANCED eLEARNING MENU

17. Finally, find out what your colleagues
and even competitors have to offer…

18. Your organization may already be a member of an association that
offers helpful, industry-specific training. Check out what is
available. And use it!
8. BREAK BREAD WITH
INDUSTRY GROUPS

19. Watch a SilkRoad GreenLight
LMS Demo Video
REDUCING TRAINING COSTS
Thank you!
Download the Top 8 Ways to
Reduce Training Costs
Want more? Try these resources: