Are you making the most of the training available to you at work? Paul Slezak explains why you should.

A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with a client about the importance of upskilling when it comes to staff retention and asked her what investment her organisation placed on training and development.

Her response surprised me.

"Now come on, Paul," she exclaimed. "We both know too well that training is what people have to do with dogs, circus animals or those poor dolphins at Sea World. Around here, we refer to it as learning services."

Once we had moved beyond any reference to pets and Gold Coast theme parks, she said her learning and development budget was back with a vengeance this year after having been slashed with the first hint of the GFC.

This is apparently so in many organisations, across many different sectors, making it the perfect time for employees to take advantage of opportunities to grow professionally.

As a manager, I always recognised the importance of keeping staff upskilled and was aware of the latest techniques, industry trends and initiatives and encouraged my team to jump in whenever possible.

It was rewarding to see in most pre-appraisal questionnaires I received from them (as part of their performance review preparation) an extensive wish list in response to the question: "What further training and development do you feel you would benefit from in the coming six months?"

However, if you ask employees today, within organisations large or small, you get very mixed opinions around the notion of learning and development.

Some seize the opportunity to upskill as part of their professional growth; others simply see the chance to attend an in-house training course as a welcome distraction from their day-to-day tasks; while others roll their eyes at the mere thought of an invitation from learning services and even see the time away from their desk as a complete waste of time. You clearly can't please everyone.

When did you last think about what further training and development opportunities could be of benefit and give you that leading edge? How long has it been since you discussed upskilling with your boss?

Asking for additional training is not a sign of weakness. In fact, it can actually show your commitment to wanting to grow professionally and excel within the business.

Learning services as a department typically exists within larger corporations and is there to ensure staff are given sufficient levels of training and professional development.

And if a particular organisation doesn't have a formal learning services team, there will usually be somebody within the business responsible for liaising with external businesses which would be involved in training as and when required.

It's important to distinguish between what an organisation is willing to offer its employees in terms of learning and development, as opposed to the idea of further education.

I once had a staff member ask me whether the business would support her in a diploma in organisational psychology.

As this was more of a personal interest than upskilling for her role, while she received my moral support, the company didn't pay for her to go back to school because her request lay beyond the realm of what was considered learning and development.

If you are fortunate enough to have an in-house learning services team within your organisation, are you familiar with what they are really there for and what they can offer you in terms of further development?

This is particularly important if you have been working in the business for a while and may be under the impression the learning and development team exists solely for new or less-experienced staff.

Many of the larger corporations regularly post outlines and updates on their intranet, so keep an eye out for any internal courses or workshops that may be of interest to you.

Ask your manager to help you identify where you feel you may have a gap in your skills and how you can better utilise the learning services team. Don't wait until your next formal appraisal. In larger organisations training courses are being run constantly.

In this day and age, there are many recorded conference calls, podcasts or webinars from key people within your organisation, as well as from external industry leaders, that you can download and work through at your own pace, in your own time.

Embrace every opportunity for further professional development and make the most of your learning services team. They are there for you and have your best interests in mind.

How you can live and learn

■Become familiar with what your learning services department can offer you. If your organisation doesn't have one, look externally for relevant courses.

■Don't wait until your next performance review. Identify your training and development needs and discuss these with your manager regularly. Don't be afraid to ask for it.

■Take advantage of any training courses you are sent on. Go in with an open mind. You never know what you might learn.

■ Speak to learning services to ensure you are being kept upskilled and aware of the latest techniques, industry trends and market initiatives.

■Remember, professional development doesn't have to be boring. In fact, it doesn't have to take place in a classroom. Ask learning services to keep you aware about podcasts and webinars and listen to them from home or on the way to and from work.


Paul Slezak is the founder of 2 dots (2dots.com.au), a business that helps with change for people, teams and organisations, and director of Recruitment Academy (recruitmentacademy .com.au) that tailors induction and training courses to the recruitment industry. Browse courses by uni at mycareer.com.au/ educationcentre