Commitment-Based Training: Why It’s Essential For Your Team

How does your company view management training? Are you using it as a compelling professional development tool, or are you just checking off training boxes to remain compliant?

Many companies are just scraping by, completing the bare minimum when it comes to training – and nothing more. But, the most successful management programs are ones that companies are dedicated to over the long term. It’s about more than compliance. It’s about commitment.

The right investment in management training goes beyond purchasing a course and providing it to your employees. You need to integrate training and self-improvement into your company culture.

The Role Of Training In Company Culture 

There are two basic approaches used by companies to train their workforce.

• Compliance-based training is enacted by leadership or human resources to meet internal or external training requirements (e.g. a construction company that holds training sessions to meet requirements outlined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration). This approach is typically associated with the idea of “checking off the training box.” But, because compliance-based training is set up solely to fulfill company or government mandates, many employees simply go through the motions without reaping any long-term benefits.

• Commitment-based training is an approach adopted by companies that want to create a culture of improvement. In this model, management training is available to all employees, not just new ones or high-level leaders, and there is a strong focus on self-improvement within all areas of team members’ professional lives. Company leaders encourage participation in the training, and this commitment to improvement engages employees.

If you were to poll a number of companies, most would probably say they fall into the commitment-based category. Unfortunately, it’s far more likely that they actually implement compliance-based training.

Where does your company stand?

Assessing Your Own Professional Training Program

There are several reasons why many companies end up with compliance-based training. Maybe you’re required by the government to offer certain training courses. It could be a safety or financial requirement. Perhaps your business is a small or mid-sized operation for which an investment in essential leadership skills training seems too costly. Most commonly, employees simply don’t have the time to pause their daily work and focus on training. In these types of scenarios, training becomes more about staying compliant than creating real improvement.

But, the benefits of engaging employees through management skills development outweigh any cost. Approximately 85% of engaged employees would stay at their current job even if they were offered employment elsewhere. And since one of the best ways to engage employees is through management training, this should be a priority for any organization that’s concerned with employee retention.

Take a minute to evaluate your company and its approach to management skills training. Ask the following questions to find out which outlook you’re adopting:

• Are your employees engaged?
• Is productivity high?
• Do you have low turnover?
• Is management training readily available for all employees?
• Are your leaders committed to improving your company?

If you answered “no” to any of the above, your employees are likely subject to compliance-based training, and it’s time to make some changes.

Learn about what changes you should make to embrace commitment-based training by downloading our free e-book.