Training Budget Time? 4 Ways to Get and Keep A Bigger Budget

Happ CLO With Bigger Training BudgetFor 2015, about 55% of CLOs expect bigger training budgets. Has your training budget grown? If you don’t want to give up those gains, follow these tips.

Invest in Learning Tech to Boost Your Training Budget

Chief Learning Officer magazine via IDC surveyed CLOs.  The survey asked CLOs about training budget goals. CLOs said technology enablement was a top need. Training pros need to invest wisely in learning tech. Technology should make your training team do their job better. It should help you create great training for adult learners.

CLOs want better training design and learning development tools. Finding the right products to support these training goals will help you keep a bigger training budget. (Learn more: 3 Technologies Transforming Training Measurement.)

Link Training Strategy to Business Strategy

The article describes 2015 spending plans: “[Most CLOs] will focus on improved outcomes and promoting links between learning and business strategy.”

Can you narrow the gap between training strategy and business strategy? If you can, you will win the yearly training budget battle. You want your training team to be seen as a business partner. To make that happen, learn how to link  training goals and business goals. Show how learning makes your business better. Then your training team will be seen as a partner and not as “overhead.”

Measure Training Impact

The CLO item also says, “These CLOs are expressing a belief that learning needs to be measured to demonstrate effectiveness and to ensure it meets business goals.” Many CLOs say they want a better LMS . The Learning Impact System is that better LMS. With an LIS, you can prove training impact on business goals. (Learn more: LIS—the Hottest Tool in Training Measurement; Get Certified In Measurable Instructional Design). An LMS measures who took what course and when. But an LIS will show the impact of that training on the business. Which measure do you think your CEO would rather have?

Training ROI Proves Training Budget Value

Training pros need to focus on training ROI proof. When you can show that training ROI improves business ROI your team will be golden. Many training professionals try to make finding ROI seem complex. But it doesn’t have to be. You can easily prove training ROI with the right training design process. This process is simple, but more in-depth than can be explained in a blog post. Check out my book, ROI By Design, for the details. (Learn more: Why Are People So Nervous About Tying ROI to Training?)

Did your training budget drop in the Great Recession? Did your training budget grow in the past few years? Invest in great learning tech, tie training goals to business goals, measure training impact, and prove training ROI with hard data. Do these things and you’ll win the training budget battle every time.

What do you think? Has your training budget increased since the Great Recession? What’s your strategy for keeping your hard earned budget? Please tell us in the comments. We’d love to hear your ideas.

Photo Copyright: ryanking999 / 123RF Stock Photo

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