When Resources are Scarce… Professional Development for Workforce Development on a Budget for Organizations!

Every day it seems that resources in workforce development get smaller and smaller. No sooner we adjust to one reduced way of doing business, than another wrinkle gets thrown in and the budget is reduced again. As I write this Congress is trying to figure out what to do to fix the finances in this country and how to avoid a government shutdown. What that means for workforce development as an industry is that we are going to have to cut coupons and collect cans to make ends meet, as we will be allocated less money in the future.  It’s the less is more thing theme that keeps popping up.

One of the first things to go is professional development. Attending conferences and having staff training may be luxury in times like we are facing, but eliminating professional development is a dangerous path. Innovative ideas will be lost, burn-out will grow, and resentment will rear its ugly head. Rather than call it a day, it is time for some creativity. Below are some innovative solutions to the budget crunch!

§  Field Trips to Local Community Service and Educational Providers!

The One Stop is just that for employment needs, but when it comes to providing other resources that our customers utilize, referrals are often made. The only way to fully understand the experience of accessing the resource and to develop relationships with the people that provide the service is to visit. Is there a provider in your area that helps your customers with clothes for job interviews, assisting with heating and utilities, or a training provider that provides ESL and an Occupation Skill? Field trips to the resources that we refer our customers to daily make great professional development opportunities with the added benefit of relationship development!

§  Study Circles

Another low budget idea is a study circle. Up to 10 people can get together to research and share information on a particular topic. This allows people to study both individually and in a group.  As an example, you can have a study circle about understanding and working with people with mental illness. If 10 people were in the study circle, each person could focus on a different mental illness and share at a group meeting or each month there could be one topic and people can bring different resources to share. 

§  Book Clubs

The cost to this idea is the books, but ultimately low budget because a book still costs less than the average professional development conference. E-books and buying in bulk saves money also. The key to making this work is not to buy books for an entire organization and have a 100 person book club meeting, but rather to allow groups of up to 10 individuals that would like to participate come together on their own and choose the books that they will be reading. The books can be from a pre-approved list or the group can choose their own and have them approved before the commencement.  Also allowing the groups to vote on the titles is the best way to keep the group motivated. People do not want to be forced to read a book as they were in high school.  Keep the group in control as long as it remains professional.

§  Free Webinars

There are webinars out there that do not cost anything to participate in. A great national resource for these is the website https://www.workforce3one.org/. This website has resources for professionals, tips, tool kits, and tons of information to keep people going. Individuals can also subscribe to this website for information and advance notice of all the free webinars that are happening. Additionally, professional development organization may also offer free webinars.

§  In-House Experts

It is hard to believe that any organization could be without its own set of self-made experts. Put these professionals to work. Not only does the other staff get to learn and grow from their peers, but the in-house expert gets a development opportunity by teaching others. Some ideas include- Professional Résumé Writers training non-certified staff on résumés, Job Developers teaching candidate screening to case management staff, etc. When was the last time a board member of the workforce investment board provided an in-service training for front line staff?  Think of these people as internal consultants!

§  Supporting the Individual Path

When looking at budgets and resources, an organization may be able to provide part of a training opportunity or conference, but not to pay a person’s entire trip and to pay a salary on top of it. If an individual approaches that he is willing to pay for a conference or training if it is allowed to be done on company time, then it should be allowed whenever possible. It does not cost the organization any additional money than it is already paying the individual.

§  Organic Think Tanks

Imagine a group of people that are naturally inclined to discuss ideas and opportunities as a group, getting together weekly to brain storm solutions to current problems and come up with new and fresh ideas for getting things done. This is the organic think tank. It is not forced. The people are not all plucked from their day to day business if they are not committed to the idea. They are not assigned to be a member of the tank, but instead they volunteer to take on this task. The tank may meet at non-conventional hours, in non-conventional places, but a product is presented that provides a solution to a problem or a new idea.

§  Project Based

In this concept, every member of an organization participates in a project. The catch that keeps this from being extra work is that the organization supports it as a whole. This means that on a certain day and time, all other work stops and everyone participates in their projects. It could be Friday afternoons. Projects can be anything from organizational issues such as a new filing system or a coming up with a program to get hard to serve customers employed. The key is that everyone is participating in a project at the same time. It is part of the job, instead of an added duty. Time allocation is made.

The above are some ideas for organizations. If you are an individual in a workforce development organization that is not able to provide for professional development, then propose one of these low cost ideas.  Implement a lunch time study circle, present your project idea. All these ideas are only as strong as the commitment from the individuals that are participating.  Only one idea from the list may work for your organization or having all of the above as a menu of options to choose from may work also. 

This week I leave you with one question. What ideas do you have for low cost professional development opportunities? Feel free to leave your suggestions below. Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave your comments below or email me. ~ Karen Cirincione kcirincione@gmail.com