Pharmaceutical Executive Europe IMS Sales Training Supplement - May 2008 - (Page 10)

No Train, No Gain The ROI from an effective programme of training encompasses far more than simply profit. Charles Maraia/Getty Images usiness is a simple concept. You have a company, you put financial resources in the front, the company uses those resources to produce something for its market place, then net results come of out the back. Those results are either fed back into the process or distributed to the owners of the company. The goal of most companies is to maximise those net results and let the owners (shareholders) enjoy them. As such, companies need to make sure that any internal spending increases their output compared to their input. In other words, it maximises return on investment. If you’re talking about building cars or manufacturing screwdrivers, it’s pretty straightforward: you increase the efficiency of your manufacturing processes to afford greater margins, or you stimulate sales to multiply those unit margins. Either way, you create shareholder value. You can determine the effectiveness of most of these initiatives pretty easily: you measure the increases in efficiency or the increases in sales and you work out how much is due to your investments. If you buy a new machine that decreases costs by 3% per screwdriver… well, you don’t need a PhD in mathematics to be able to work out your ROI. Some investments, however, are far more difficult to measure and thus more difficult to justify. Training is one of them. In a previous article, we looked at ways of measuring the ROI of training, but the one B thing that stands out from that discussion is that it’s difficult to do, and often is not done at all. The result is that training is often not taken seriously enough. The benefits Consider the impact of training. First and foremost, it increases skills. The fundamental role of most training courses is to meet this objective, the business justification being that employees will then be more efficient, lifting ROI for human resources expenditures. This is the principle reason for training, but the impact goes well beyond simple skill enhancement, as listed below. ● Staff retention. Greater focus on quality training will decrease employee turnover. One of the major elements cited by pharmaceutical reps when asked what they would like to have more of is training. In most polls, it comes before remuneration. People have a natural desire to develop, and the more ambitious they are, the more keenly pursue this. Providing training will reduce voluntary turnover. ● Motivation. In a similar vein, training proves to your employees that you believe in them, that you’re investing in them. This not only reduces turnover rates, but increases motivation — the willingness to make an effort. If, as an employer, you are willing to make an effort to invest in your employees, they will be more willing to make an effort in working for you. 10 MAY 2008 PHARMACEUTICAL EXECUTIVE EUROPE Somos/Veer/Getty Images

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Europe IMS Sales Training Supplement - May 2008

Pharmaceutical Executive Europe IMS Supplement - May 2008
Contents
Achieving Behavioural Change
No Train, No Gain
Improving Market Share

Pharmaceutical Executive Europe IMS Sales Training Supplement - May 2008