Getting management buy-in: overcoming obstacles to effective training.

• Author: Brown, Andy
• Position: HR Matters - Column

Last month, I wrote about how training affects the bottom line for good or ill. I outlined three main obstacles businesses face when creating an effective training program. This month, I am writing about the first of those three obstacles, getting management buy-in.

Of all the challenges to training, getting management support is by far the most important. The best training program in the world can be easily torpedoed if management is unsupportive. With this in mind, the following are some of the more effective ways to increase the likelihood of getting management support.

1. Involve management from the start.

   Let's be honest, we all know managers who, for one reason or another, were less than ideal. Involving them from the start can reduce the impact of poor managers and demonstrates to good supervisors you are thinking about the team as a whole.

2. Prepare your pitch.

   Present two good ideas to management and get their opinions on which they would prefer to use. This is a double-whammy; it gets their buy-in by letting management be the decision-maker while presenting them with variance.

3. Se prepared for feedback.

   Your manager may spot problems you haven't considered and this is your chance to show you are able to accept suggestions professionally. If a manager has an opinion, remember it is just an opinion. Give it consideration, but do not simply discount it or blindly accept it as mandatory. Remember, you should be playing the role of advisor and subject-matter expert; be prepared to support whatever decision you make with a sound rationale about how it will benefit the organization.

4. Find out the underlying reason why management doesn't support training.

   This can require what might seem to be "difficult conversations." If handled properly, however, both management and HR can come out of this with a sound understanding of their priorities. Many supervisors are unable to articulate why they do not support training. They simply do not see value in it. This can stem from never having seen past results. They might see training as merely something that takes employees away from contributing to the bottom line. One manager I knew made a point of telling me that at his previous job, the HR team never took his suggestions so he always opposes suggestions from HR. While this seems...