As talent development professionals, we must be equipped to assist our teams with the development of their people. Companies with large budgets may be able to create in-house development programs or send their employees to classes and conferences, or even bring companies in house to conduct development courses. What if you don’t have endless budget dollars to spend?

There is low cost training that can be found on platforms such as LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, and via MOOC.org, however, if paying for or sending people to such training is not possible, one way to help your employees develop their skill-sets organically is through volunteering.

Getting involved in extracurricular activities at work or through non-profit and/or professional organizations, such as the ATD, is an excellent way to develop current skill-sets or curate new skills. Through my involvement with ATD Buffalo Niagara I have learned how to develop my own graphics and videos; skills I did not have previously and now able to directly apply to my job as a senior trainer. Boom! I was developed without realizing it.

Think of the implications for anyone that is on the fence about spending time volunteering: Volunteering can help you feel good AND you can learn something new. In her book, Employee Development on a Shoestring, author and development expert Halelly Azulay outlines numerous ways low-cost ways to develop employees, one of which is through volunteering. She shares “that employees can develop a variety of skills outside their work environment for no cost to the organization when they take on volunteer jobs in industry and community organizations” (p. xx).

Halelly further reveals that “[a]nyone who wants to ensure that employees are developing new skills and knowledge and who realizes that sending them to a training class cannot be, and should not be, the only path to achieve that outcome, [will] benefit from the ideas presented in [Employee Development on a Shoestring]” (p. xviii).

While not everyone can volunteer outside of their workplace, Halelly Azulay, our April Webinar speaker will explore other low-cost opportunities to develop employees. Please join us on April 16, 2019 at noon when Halelly Azulay will help you to Develop your Employees on a Shoestring.

This webinar is FREE for ATD Buffalo Niagara Members. Not a Member?  Join now and save on member-only content.

Cheers!