Investing in training defends businesses against costly errors and missed opportunities. It ensures compliance with legal requirements, reduces accidents and mitigates work-related stress.
Proper training also safeguards reputation, improves talent retention and potentially lowers insurance premiums.
Economic pressures could mean your organisation is looking at budget cuts. Training could be seen as an easy target for reduction. But failing to invest in training can have long-term detrimental impacts on the business. We offer nine reasons for any organisation to prioritise and invest in training.
Reason 1: Cut training, expect errors
Without proper training, your people may lack the knowledge and skills to identify, assess and manage risks effectively. This increases the likelihood of errors around identifying, assessing and mitigation risks. Depending on your industry, this could potentially lead to significant negative consequences.
From spotting phishing attacks to cleaning machinery safely, proper training can generate risk mitigation strategies and best practices that better protect businesses.
Reason 2: Missing training means missing opportunities
Adequate training helps your people recognise not only potential risks but also opportunities. Without the ability to identify and leverage positive risks, you could miss opportunities for innovation, growth and competitive advantage.
Reason 3: Lack of training can mean lack of compliance
Some training is a mandatory legal requirement, for example, under the requirements set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Your industry may also entail regulatory requirements related to risk management training. Fail to comply with these regulations and you could face legal action, fines or damage to your organisation's reputation.
Reason 4: Lack of training can increase accidents and incidents
Inadequate training around certain risks increases the likelihood of incidents and near-misses, from trips and slips to driving accidents to contractors not being in a position to perform tasks safely. The absence of proper training can contribute to an increase in the severity and frequency of incidents you might have otherwise prevented or mitigated.
For example, according to the HSE "lack of training and risk assessment led to two deaths" for which an agricultural firm and contractor were prosecuted for failing to produce a risk assessment leading to inadequate training and safe systems of work in place.
Reason 5: Poor training can increase work-related stress and psychosocial risk
If you don't give your people appropriate training to meet their responsibilities and cope with the demands of their role, they may experience work-related stress, resulting in productivity loss, absenteeism or leaving.
Managers and those responsible for job design must be competent in recognising the causes of stress and identifying psychosocial hazards. These factors can include high workload, tight deadlines or lack of control. Making sure managers have the competence to manage these risks prevents harm to your people and your organisation.
Reason 6: Poor training can impact your reputation and talent retention
Poorly managed risks, in particular those relating to health and safety of your people, can lead to negative publicity and damage your organisation's reputation. This can have long-lasting effects on customer trust, investor confidence and relationships with other stakeholders including supply chain partners.
Consider a restaurant customer's complaint, supported by video evidence, regarding poor service and hygiene. The video goes viral, triggering internal employee complaints about inadequate training and support. This situation leads to an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive and results in negative consequences for the restaurant, ranging from recruitment challenges to numerous booking cancellations. To prevent such crises, organisations must demonstrate investment in employee competency. Additionally, competitive sales proposals and procurement processes now require evidence of training before they engage in relationships.
Employees themselves are also more likely to join or stay with your organisation if you invest in their learning, development and keeping them safe.
Reason 7: Increase your training, reduce your premiums
Imagine a scenario where a manufacturing company invests in safety management training for its managers, leading to improved safety practices and reduced workplace accidents.
This commitment to safety lowers incident rates, giving insurers reason to offer reduced premiums on insurance policies covering property and liability, generating overall direct cost savings.
Reason 8: Improve risk management training to generate projects savings
Let's imagine a construction company that provides risk management training to its project managers. The training helps managers identify and mitigate potential risks to construction projects, reducing the likelihood of delays and cost overruns. This results in projects being completed on time and within budget, saving the company money and improving overall profitability.
Reason 9: Specialist training can boost claims defensibility
A healthcare organisation attends a training course focused on improving claims defensibility on gross negligence manslaughter.
Insights from the course help the organisation avoid regulatory violations and fines due to non-compliance and minimises risk to its reputation.
Next steps towards effective risk management training
Not investing in training can have far-reaching consequences for your organisation, impacting your ability to navigate uncertainties. Maintaining a commitment to training is a crucial step in building a risk-aware organisational culture that creates the conditions for long-term resilience and your ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
Continue your journey to risk management learning and development excellence today. You can browse our training options by downloading our WTW Risk Management Training Hub ebooklet.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
