Continuing education is good business
Toolbox
By Maureen Broderick-Hebert - Published: May 1, 2006
Continuing education programs are often perceived as a means to career advancement, benefiting the participant, largely, and the employer peripherally. However, many researchers have argued that it is becoming less of an option and more of a necessity for both the employee and the employer.
Peter Senge, in his book "The Fifth Discipline," stated that "in situations of rapid change only those that are flexible, adaptive and productive will excel. For this to happen, it is argued, organizations need to discover how to tap people's commitment and capacity to learn at all levels," to create what he calls a learning organization.
Central Vermont Medical Center is moving towards this goal of becoming a learning organization. In 2001, the Vermont State College Technology Extension Division (TED) and CVMC began a unique collaboration to provide training to their employees onsite and online. This model is unique in that TED has created a "mini-university" at CVMC, with an onsite manager at the hospital full time, performing yearly assessments and coordinating training and education efforts. TED provides a wide variety of learning options to the 1,100 employees, ranging from phlebotomy training to leadership certification to computer training. The program creates cost-effective access to education for all employees at all levels of the organization, helping to align strategic goals with measurable outcomes that enhance both employee and organizational capacity.
As Senge states, "The more the organization's members increase their ability to learn collaboratively, the more they can accomplish, the higher their performance, and the more effectively they can hope to change their organization, and the world, for the better." Continuing education allows employees to clarify and understand the purpose and goals of their occupations and can give them the opportunity to acquire both theoretical and practical knowledge to facilitate organizational development as a whole. Any business, no matter the size, can benefit by providing employees with educational access. Outcomes will include:
1. Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees
2. Increased employee motivation
3. Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain
4. Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods
5. Increased innovation in strategies and products
6. Reduced employee turnover
7. Enhanced company image
8. Reduced risk – by offering critical thinking skills, safety, diversity and sexual harassment training
9. Employees who upgrade their work skills and knowledge are better equipped to keep up with the latest business techniques.
10. Classes can help you quickly identify high potential employees and empower them take on more responsibility– succession planning.
Perhaps the ultimate benefit of continuing education, however, is its ability to impart a culture of continuous improvement that encourages workers to find and use the best techniques available at any given time and to realize that these techniques will need to be improved or replaced, according to Cyril Houle in "Continuing Learning in the Professions." This attitude is all the more important, given increasing technological advances and the growth of competition within the global marketplace. Change is constant – having the ability and tools to adapt is key.
Ideally, continuing-education programs benefit both businesses and employees. Businesses encourage educational development to sustain a highly skilled and specialized workforce — a workforce with the skills to perform a variety of tasks or employees with "cross-functional" skills. Employees, on the other hand, may receive promotions, gain more power in the job market, or become more valuable team members. In the end, providing your employees with educational opportunities is no longer just an option, but a critical business imperative.
Resources: Senge, P. M. (1990) "The Fifth Discipline. The art and practice of the learning organization," London: Random House.
McNamara, Carter, MBA, PhD, "Employee Training and Development," 1999.
Houle, Cyril 0. "Continuing Learning in the Professions." San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1980.
Kim, Nancy J. "Continuing Education Is No Longer an Option." Puget Sound Business Journal, 15 August 1997.
American Society for Training & Development, "State of the Industry Report, 2005."
Maureen Broderick-Hebert, MPA is an education and training manager for the Vermont State College Technology Extension Division. She has worked in the continuing education field for more than 11 years and oversees a variety of training programs for Central Vermont Medical Center and the Dartmouth Hitchcock Alliance.
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