TRAINING X 3

In real estate, the three words are "location, location, location." If you ask just about any IT director what are the three most important words for success, most say without hesitation, "training, training, training."

But trying to convince lawyers and other legal professionals to stop billing for five minutes and take some training is an almost Sissyphean task. An April 25 article in Forbes may get them thinking twice, suggests California CPA Terry Lloyd (a frequent contributor to LTN & LFI). "Blame the Accountants," by Ira Carnahan, says wise organizations treat employee training as an investment, and profiles CDW, which sends it sales reps to extensive training before setting them loose on the world. But, says Forbes, U.S. accounting rules treat training as "money poured down the drainpipe -- a pure operating expense. like the light bill."

Laurie Bassi is among those who suggest an alternative is in order. She proposes that companies be required to report how much money they are investing in their employees. "Companies already make disclosures for research and development," she notes. She and research partner have put their money where their mouths are, and have formed an investment firm, Bassi Investments, to buy stock in companies that invest heavily in employee training. The typical firm invests 2% of payroll in training - she looks for firms that at least double that, says Forbes.  And so far, the company is doing well, says Forbes.

Here's the link to the story (note: it's not free).