Small Businesses Make Training Work

In the tri-state area, several small companies have made significant investments into continuing their employee’s education and training. These businesses have instituted effective employee training programs and provide their tips to success:

Brooke Allen

Maple Securities, 6 employees

Jersey City, NJ

Program details: Out of the six-person team employed at this banking, securities, trust and financial services company, three have their Master’s Degrees, and three were sent back to obtain their degree at the company’s expense.

To make sure he is hiring quality candidates, Allen puts potential employees through an inhouse class before making hiring decisions. After the training classes are completed, Allen decides on the best job candidate, and then helps the others look for alternative employment.

Additionally, Allen created a book club where one member of their team picks a book for the week that’s purchased for each employee. He wanted to do this because it fosters a continuous spirit of learning in his company.

How it pays off: By providing educational opportunities, Allen is able to hire younger employees for less salary than he could hire experienced talent. Not only does that help his bottom line without sacrificing quality, but he has more flexibility to give raises, which improves employee retention.

Allen has been able to attract and keep employees who fit his company’s vision and culture. He says it helps maintain the businesses’ cohesiveness because they are a small unit and all have received similar education. He also believes the book group he created fosters camaraderie and a shared knowledge base.

Ronald K. Stair

Creative Plan Designs, Ltd.,

20 employees

East Meadow, NY

Program details: While administrators at retirement planning companies like this one are required by the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries and/or the National Institute of Pension Administrators to spend 20 hours a year updating their credentials, Stair requires his employees to complete 70 hours as a condition of employment and pays for all continuing education. Employees are not required to reimburse the company if they leave the company for education costs or stay at the company for a specific amount of time.

Employees earn hours by attending seminars and symposiums all over the county. Since regulations and procedures are constantly changing, he wants his employees to be ahead of the curve, and earn his company the reputation as a leader in the industry.

How it pays off: This yearly $100,000 investment has allowed Stair to have a peace-of-mind knowing business is being carried through correctly and in their client’s best interest.

On the flipside, he has seen a decrease in productivity. Where his administrators used to handle 120 to 130 accounts, they now mange 80 to 90 accounts because they realize to do their business right, it takes more time and research. While this can be seen negatively, Stair is thankful to have a company that’s reliable as opposed to just fast.

Thomas King

GGGroup, 14 employees

New York, NY

Program details: This technology management company invested 2 percent of their gross revenues in employee training reimbursements, courses, and certifications last year. They decided to make a commitment to education because their industry changes rapidly.

Through investing in employee training, they are able to retain top talent. Every member of the staff, including the CEO, participates in training of some kind. All managers have to attend relevant seminars and speaking engagements, in addition to a few sessions through Entrepreneur’s Organization. With internal training, the company has the goal of ensuring the whole team is operating from the same handbook, and a chance to share ideas. The technical staff must do some form of e-learning for five hours a week, and all technical certifications are paid for by the firm. If an employee would like to work on their MBA or BA, they may do so at the company’s expense, and do not have to pay back the company if they decide to leave, nor do they have to stay at the company for an contracted amount of time.

How it pays off: Six years ago, there was little organizational structure in the company, and six employees left the company over the course of a few months because of disorganization. They realized they needed to do something to provide better structure to day-to-day operations, and the way to do this was through training. After implementing the training program, GGGroup has seen the company’s revenue remain consistent with nine fewer employees and client satisfaction ratings have improved in each of their last four surveys.