I start my blog after a long, seemingly unending winter in the landscape of training. Just yesterday I attended a Meet where I met with a number of HR heads of companies ranging from MNCs to SMEs. The discussions –formal and informal- were about how to engage your employees in the bad times. Though HR heads formally claim that keeping employee learning and betterment continues, they admit in private conversations that they are sticking to low-cost activities- may be employee meets and picnics and such- that keep people’s morale going. But yes, there is a huge cutback on developmental activities especially training. There too, the technical training continues because it is imperative for daily business but soft skills development takes a back seat.
A colleague from the e-learning business echoes the same thought. He says that the corporate business is down to probably just 10 to 20 per cent of earlier annual revenues. What continues is the basic education business. So when will this season change? When will the green shoots of hope appear? When both the government and the corporate heads state that we haven’t been as hurt by the recession as have the Western economies, why then such a fear of expending on development? Your explanations and answers are welcome.