Aug. 25, 2008— When it comes to improving skills and learning new ones, where does your shop fall on the scale? Are you one of those who invests a considerable amount of time and money in your employees, always making sure they're on the cutting edge? Or do you not invest any time or money, requiring employees who want to learn more to do it on their own time, if you or they think of it at all? Or, more likely, you fall somewhere in between.

"Training and education in a print shop should be considered 'professional development,'" said Lloyd Carr, director, Graphic Arts Program, New York City College of Technology. "It helps to sustain profits from labor through optimization of policies, procedures, and meeting the challenging dynamics of making things operate better every day. Rather than try to quantify training and education as a separate activity, on-going professional development can positively affect the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of a print shop's operation, just as the culture of craftsmanship did in the development of industry in the early 20th century. To ask, 'how much is too much, and how much is not enough training and education,' devalues the importance of life-long learning, critical thinking, and pro-active problem solving that are significant factors in successful print shop operations."

Why Train?
There are many different reasons to invest in yourself and your employees if you think long term. It may be an up-front investment, but in the long run, it builds team cohesiveness and effectiveness, and improves the overall efficiency of your shop. In a world where time is money, giving employees the skills to do more in less time is a powerful advantage for your business.

Another major reason to invest in professional development is the younger generation. The individuals entering today's workforce have a very different mentality toward work than people even a single generation ago. They have grown up in a world where they were taught anything was possible, and the best investment they can make is in themselves, as that's the only constant in the workplace. Layoffs, pink slips, demotions, and pay cuts have all had major effects on this generation as they've watched their parents struggle, in many cases. That means if you want to bring in young, fresh perspectives, you need to offer incentives they'll be interested in.

You might be surprised to know that money, while important, may not be the most important factor.

If you want to keep younger employees for a long period of time, your best tactic is to offer them training and education. If you create an environment that encourages them to grow and explore new areas of expertise, and you are willing to mentor them and offer suggestions on what they should learn next and a path for their own personal growth within your organization, you'll not only have a well-educated, competent employee, you'll have a loyal employee.
Of course, like anything else in life, training and education isn't a magic pill to fix everything in your business.

"Unfortunately, benefits are normally balanced by downsides," noted Carr. "Three downside factors may be: (a) Increased competition based on unrealistic pricing, rather than other criteria. (b) Loss of jobs due to automation of functions without the professional development and repurposing of personnel. Or, unemployment increases due to loss of businesses because of their failure to integrate and automate functions. (c) Increase in frustration and aggravation due to a failure to understand how to develop a better business, even though others are successful. A lack of formal or informal education supports this situation."

However, despite the potential downsides, training does bring a lot of very healthy benefits to a business. Some of those, Carr noted, include short-term benefits such as better profits, client retention, new business development, employee satisfaction, employee retention, reduced costs, and reduced waste. Longer term training offers sustained and intelligent growth, new business development identified as leadership, a healthy environment for all related stakeholders and their families, plus positive benefits affecting all people, the planet, and ancillary businesses.

Where Do I Go From Here?
Now that we've convinced you that training is an important investment you should be making in your business' future, the next question you should be asking is: What type of training should I look into, and who should get it?

When it comes to the "who" part of that question, Carr is a big believer in including everyone in your shop on the list. "A shop should seek to train the entire staff. This is because of a need to work together rather than just 'on my job description.' The concept of team building has been demonstrated in case studies as being a significant determinant of success in many print shop situations. In addition, today's demand for optimized ROI can be achieved better when all employees are cross-trained as multi-functioning and multi-tasking personnel. Successful employees, at any level, have been shown to be happier and more satisfied with their jobs when tasks have variations that are different from 'robotic behavior.'"

When it comes to the "what" the options are wide open. Short term, it is a good idea to make sure as many employees as possible are trained on the software and hardware your shop is running, or wants to run in the near future. Longer term, noted Carr, "if the training includes practical, hands-on applied theory to understand the improved function rather than just how to use the improved function, employees will be better prepared to solve challenging problems that may not be included in the tutorial."

Types of Training Programs
Once you've decided to train, you know who will be receiving the training, and you know what you want those people to be trained in, your next decision is what type of program to offer. There are several options, from seminars at a trade show, to classes at a university, to online programs.

"My recommendation for the 'best' kind of training is based on the intended educational objective," said Carr. "For example, if the educational objective is to increase awareness of different color print models and specifications, the outcome may be that, after completing the course, a student would be able to list print color models. Such a course may be effectively delivered in an online format. However, if the student is being educated to buy color printing, or be responsible for the ultimate quality of a finished printed product, a more effective educational format would be experiential (hands-on) in a printing press lab."

In general, a good rule of thumb is that the more complex the training you want to engage in, the more hands-on the approach should be. Skills such as learning the general functions of a software program, or picking up the basics of how a print shop works can probably be done effectively in an online program. There are quite a few options out there for this type of education, some of which you buy once and can train multiple people on, and others that you pay per-seat for.

For slightly more advanced training, where you want your employees to delve into deeper subjects, perhaps grooming them to move from an operator position to a supervisor role within your company, the seminar format might be a good route to take. One cost-effective solution for this type of training might be to designate and pay for one person to attend, and then make it part of their duties to come back and teach the rest of the shop what they learned. And when you're ready to more heavily invest in your people, there are several options, from subsidizing their enrollment in a print education program offered by one of the local universities, or by bringing someone on-site who can tailor the training specifically to your shop.

In the end, no matter what route you take, the benefits of professional development and training far outweigh the negatives. Offering a clear path for your employees to learn and grow will create a stronger, more effective and profitable business.