Now’s the time for more training

Now’s the time for more training

Gary David posed the question: “Are redundancies a necessity or a knee-jerk reaction?” (Travel Weekly October 1).

Redundancies will be a necessity if the present downturn in business lasts for an extended period because companies will inevitably need to make economies. The most significant cuts that can be made is unstaffing levels, since the wage bill is almost always the highest cost an organisation has to bear.

However, to make staff redundant within a few days of a business turndown seems to me to be a knee-jerk reaction and one that will have many adverse consequences. There are costs involved in making redundancies and salary savings take time to offset such costs.

Furthermore, when business picks up again, further costs will be incurred in replacing and training those staff who have gone.

Far better to follow Gary’s advice and “use the downturn period gainfully”. In particular, spend the time on training staff and agents.

Those in the training business know the excuse companies use when refusing to train their staff – “we can’t spare them, we’re too busy”. Well, now is a golden opportunity to invest in training staff to ensure they’re ready to meet the new challenges we all face. When business does pick up, those who have made that investment will reap the reward; those who have not – and have made their trained staff redundant – will suffer the consequences.

Richard English, www.retraining-uk.com, Reigate, Surrey