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Re: STC chapter question -- what should an employer expect?
Subject:Re: STC chapter question -- what should an employer expect? From:"Damien Braniff" <Damien -dot- Braniff -at- asg -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Mon, 7 Mar 2005 08:33:36 -0000
To me, the major asset of any company is the staff (or should be!).
'Good' companies realize this and invest in CPD be it relevant tools
training, conferences, professional bodies etc. Paying for things like
these, hopefully, shows that you value the employees and want to help
them develop.
The benefits? Morale would be a big plus - knowing you're appreciated
and that the job you do is deemed worthwhile enough to warrant
investment can be a huge boost to employees plus, hopefully, employees
will learn new skills etc that can be applied in the workplace.
As an example, one place I worked:
paid for membership of one professional body (your choice);
any training that directly related to work (tools etc) was paid
for - no questions asked as long as it could be justified;
additional training, NOT directly linked to work (e.g. college
courses with vague links to TW - quality etc) were paid for on the
grounds that you stayed with the company. If you left within (2 yrs I
think) you paid a proportion of the costs
This, along with other things, created a 'warmth' for the company and
when deadlines etc loomed, staff were happy to put in extra time as
required. The 'give and take' approach had, I feel, incalculable
benefits to the company (OK somebody probably could calculate them!)
In hard times training is usually one of the first things hit but one
company here (car manufacturer I think) increased training when a
recession hit, their view being that it won't last forever and when it
ends we'll be in a position to take advantage - a rare occurrence.
On the topic of local chapters, it's like everything else - you get out
what you put in. There are always people who don't get involved and
those who do. If you're one of the former and the chapter isn't doing
anything or not going where you'd like it to go then get involved and
try to change it.
Damien Braniff | Technical Writer
damienb -at- asg -dot- com
Technical Communications
ASG | asg.com
Waterfront Plaza
8, Lagan Bank Road,
Belfast, N. Ireland BT1 3LR
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