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Professional Development funds are common among larger companies but are archaic in some policies. Continuing education or professional development funds aren't as common in small businesses. Yet, they could be a make or break in loyalty and engagement in your company and improve your team member's skills to your advantage. For corporate employees, paying for their development personally is almost unheard of, to the point some are just being….well, cheap.
Professional Development as Personal Development
Professional Development funds should also be considered personal development funds. Don't you think that investing in someone's personal development may make them happier, give them a creative or learning outlet, and make them see your company as caring about them as a whole person?
You could even check into something like Coursera and take a course for free or low cost to receive the certificate, but give your staff time during work hours to complete it. I took the Science of Well-Being course through Yale and loved it!
Professional Development at Large Companies
Old school professional development funds allocate money for each employee (often requiring a tenure) to further their education or attend a conference. The average is $500 – $2000+, depending on the role. I often work with companies that allocate $5-10k a year.
The policies are sometimes archaic because they often require spending money on a university or college course. In the last couple of years, we've discovered that not only are fewer people interested in getting degrees, but a university course isn't always practical.
Consider how much you spend on meetings. If you add up the time and money spent in an hour-long meeting, you could buy an entire course for a team member, which would yield exponential returns.
What if your team member wanted to take a course on public speaking and hire a coach to help them feel confident on video and present to the board of directors?What if they wanted to advocate for diversity and inclusion at the workplace and wanted to participate in a program that gave them steps to implement? Or what if they wanted to get their inbox under control, manage their focus and attention, and be able to prioritize effectively?
These don't fall under typical professional development but may go a lot farther than a university course in less time required.
Case in point, one of our clients works at a national law firm. She's in a six-month program with a primary productivity coach. We've brought in two additional Team Specialists. One is working with her on her brand, which is sometimes misunderstood due to cultural differences. Another Specialist will work with her on her presentation and speaking skills so that she can be taken seriously and confidently deliver her message.
Professional Development for Small Businesses
For smaller businesses that don't have a program, you could allocate a certain percentage every year to development that could help your business. I have purchased email marketing, Google Analytics, and SEO courses for my Technical Specialist, giving the skills that she took to start her own business (with my encouragement) while helping RaderCo tremendously for ours.
Professional Development as Self-Pay
And what if you don't get any professional development funds? I'm often shocked at the number of people in high-paying corporate jobs who will not pay for a course or coach to advance them if their company doesn't cover it. We have a continuation program for people who have gone through 3 or 6 months of coaching that provides one session per month and app access. A former client who makes well over six figures felt that $399 a month for continued coaching was steep. I pay more than that per hour for my coach. In all fairness, when I worked for corporate, I wasn't encouraged to use my funds, nor did it ever occur. Still, I had never heard of a coach until I hired a life coach to get me out of severe work burnout.
Professional Development for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners
The funny thing is that with business owners, it's completely different. We will invest our entire paycheck if it brings us ROI. In my first year of business, I paid my business coach more than I paid myself because it was an investment in my future. I've spent over $50,000 in eight years on coaches and programs. I attribute that to why we have grown into RaderCo and how I have grown as a person.
Now, here's my shameless plug. At RaderCo, companies hire us for Inbox Rescue or three or six-month coaching packages or invest in the self-paced Powered Path Program. These companies don't just hire us for their leaders. We've had coordinators and executive assistants because the innovative companies know that if the people supporting the leaders aren't able to prioritize and get out of overwhelm, they can't assist their managers or supervisors. Exec assistants to CEOs are on our roster.
Several options fit your budget.
Whether you invest with RaderCo or another company through live coaching, a self-paced course, or something else, revisit your professional development fund policy and update it to reflect our current state of education. What can help the company that can help them as leaders, improve their competencies and skill sets, and become better humans?
And if you're paying for it? Find something you are interested in as an investment in yourself. Don't wait for a company to tell you that you are important. You are. And if they don't see what you are doing as valuable, maybe it's time to find another company that will.
Are you interested in learning more about working with RaderCo in a private coaching experience? Book a Discovery call to learn more.
