Training for employee's

I am looking to develop a training program for my employee here at work. My thought process was, once each test was passed we will reimburse all training costs associated with said exam. After completion of certification, once I get it approved, add an increase in pay. Now we will have to come up with what certifications would qualify for pay raises as well as a fair amount. This way it keeps me from having to micro manage their studies, as this is something that they should want to do anyhow. I encourage self study even on company time, since it is benefit to both my techs and our company. The way I look at this plan is, the onus is on the employee, then the company is only responsible if employee achieves their goals.

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TechGromit

It's a good idea, but three thoughts.

A. Training has to be valuable to the company for the employee in there current role or a role they can easily transition into.

B. More risk should equal greater reward. I could easily punch out an A+, Network+ and Security+, with the same effort required to pass just the CCNA.

C. I think you'll find even with these rewards, few employees would be willing to invest the money to improve themselves. They would be more than Happy to spend the lots of $ to get that new 4k HD curved TV or fancy sports car, but if you ask them to spend a few hundred dollars to learn to swim when they work on a ship with shark infected waters all around, they will look at you with pure horror! How dear you ask me to spend MY own money to make myself a better employee.

paul78

I'm not a fan of offering a raise simply because someone has a certification or passes a certification. I've always believed that an employee's performance and value to the company ought to dictate their compensation.

If your company provides IT consulting, etc. type services where someone with a specific certification can translate to increased billable rates, then it would make sense. But I would really caution against giving someone a raise for passing a certification. Plus - you have to consider how it would translate to non-IT departments as well.

That said - if you want to offer a monetary reward for passing a certification - my suggestion is a one-time bonus/reward instead. And I would personally do something on the smaller side like giving an $100 - $200 gift card.

Also - if you keep the reward smaller - you can be more generous with the type of certifications that someone has to pass. It could be broader and maybe even not directly related to the role of the individual.

Rosco2382

A. Training has to be valuable to the company for the employee in there current role or a role they can easily transition into.

The value I am looking for the company is that Tech A is on PTO, Tech B, or Tech B/C/D whomever can step in and help. As well as if Tech A needs help with projects/workload he has people he can lean on. We have had complaints through exit interviews and annual reviews of being siloed into certain roles.

B. More risk should equal greater reward. I could easily punch out an A+, Network+ and Security+, with the same effort required to pass just the CCNA.

I agree here, while I do not want to seem like I devalue some certifications, there has to be a certain degree of difficulty and value to company to receive compensation for passing. Though I feel we should always reimburse for position related degrees.

paul78 said:

I'm not a fan of offering a raise simply because someone has a certification or passes a certification. I've always believed that an employee's performance and value to the company ought to dictate their compensation.

If your company provides IT consulting, etc. type services where someone with a specific certification can translate to increased billable rates, then it would make sense. But I would really caution against giving someone a raise for passing a certification. Plus - you have to consider how it would translate to non-IT departments as well.

That said - if you want to offer a monetary reward for passing a certification - my suggestion is a one-time bonus/reward instead. And I would personally do something on the smaller side like giving an $100 - $200 gift card.

Also - if you keep the reward smaller - you can be more generous with the type of certifications that someone has to pass. It could be broader and maybe even not directly related to the role of the individual.

Compensation is always based on performance and value to the company. Maybe doing gift cards isn't a bad idea to show the value and recognition. My thought process was if I can show recognition to their work immediately, it shows value to the employee as well. As to your point, by getting tougher certifications means they are willing to work outside their roles. Working outside their current roles increases performance hopefully, which will show up for their annual reviews.

Through some exit interviews some employees left because they felt under valued. My goal is to try to keep these type of employees longer by showing value and recognition. While I have had a great IT career thus far, management is a whole new ball game to me.