It’s no secret that, especially during downturns, money spent on soft skills training is considered by the Finance Department an unnecessary expense which often hits the bin. The latter measure everything by the ROI while HR insists such training boosts employee productivity and engagement, thus the bottom line. 

In successful companies, CHROs use performance metrics to quantify and qualify continuous investments in personnel training while CFOs understand how human capital investments can positively impact the business in the long-term, usually in ways which are not immediately measurable. In most companies, though, the war is relentless as several departments are fighting to squeeze-in their strategic investment needs. 

In order to prevail, HR Departments need to invest in e-learning platforms, peer-to-peer training, group coaching sessions, and other cost-saving alternatives to the traditional classroom training. Among the many difficulties, training developers must also consider linguistic diversity issues, cultural differences, and the various tech aptitude levels present in a group. Gamification, when done right, also offers an engaging and relatively inexpensive option. 

It has been proven that a well-trained and engaged workforce will almost always outperform its competition. Thus, it is crucial for CFOs to rely on the metrics when considering training budget cuts. Equally important is, of course, the CHRO’s ability to attract candidates with the right soft skills attitude to begin with.