I had a student email me today, frustrated. He's been building a custom Access database at work - something that's saving his coworkers time, eliminating duplicate data entry, and making processes more efficient. Real impact. Real value. But when he asked his employer to reimburse him for the Access training that made it possible, the response was: Nope.
And that's the kind of thinking that kills productivity.
Let me put it plainly: if you're an employer and you've got someone on staff who's actively streamlining your business with tools like Microsoft Access, Excel, or any specialized software, and you don't want to invest in their training... you're stepping over dollars to pick up pennies.
Training isn't an expense. It's an asset multiplier. It's how your good employees become great ones - and how your great ones stick around.
Let's break this down in the most practical way possible.
Say someone learns how to use Access more efficiently and starts shaving just 10 minutes a day off a repetitive task. Ten minutes a day doesn't sound like much, right? But over the course of a year, that adds up to about 40 hours. That's an entire work week saved. Now multiply that by every process they improve, every person that benefits from their database, every bug they don't have to call IT for anymore. Pretty soon, you're not just saving time - you're saving payroll. (1)
Now flip it. Imagine the cost of not teaching someone how to do something the right way. You get fragile spreadsheets, bloated Access files with no indexing, endless emails asking "why isn't this working," and frustrated users clicking around in circles. People waste time reinventing the wheel because no one ever showed them how to build one.
And the kicker? Most of this stuff isn't that hard. But it's also not obvious until someone explains it to you. That's what training is for. It gives people the map instead of sending them off into the jungle with a flashlight and a deadline.
This isn't just about Microsoft Access. This applies to anything - Excel, Power BI, SQL, whatever tool keeps your business running. Every minute someone spends wrestling with inefficient systems is a minute they're not doing the job you hired them for.
So if you've got someone on your team who's eager to learn, hungry to improve, and already building better tools for your business... invest in them. Support them. Pay for the training. They've already shown you what they can do without it - imagine what they'll do with it.
And of course, Star Trek knew the importance of developing your crew. Example: Ensign Ro. Picard is initially hesitant to bring her aboard. She's got a disciplinary record, political baggage, and no shortage of attitude. But over time, it becomes clear that Ro has raw talent, sharp instincts, and the ability to get things done - if someone's willing to invest in her. Picard doesn't just tolerate her - he trains her. Challenges her. Gives her responsibility. And she ends up playing a key role in critical missions.
Great teams aren't built by accident. They're built by captains who recognize where growth is possible and put resources behind it.
The best captains develop their crew. The best managers do the same.
Early in my career, many employers were willing to train people. As time moved on, many of these same employers quit investing in employees as a cost savings measure. A manager at my last employer explained that he would rather hire someone that is pre-trained, at someone else's expense. He didn't have an answer when I asked what happens when the last of the trained employees start retiring.
My previous employer even started limiting pay raises, transfers, and promotions for hourly employees. They were openly working to move from a top paying employer to an 80% employer. Some people were denied promotions and transfers because they were "too valuable" in their current positions. On my last transfer application, I was told by the site HR manager that I didn't qualify for the transfer because the position was only open to new-hires, not existing employees. In my time with them, I saved them more money than I would have been paid through retirement and the guys that I trained also went on to be a couple of their top performers.
Most of my job changes have been intentional to advance my career. I wanted to work for a single company, long term, but too many employers are not currently interested in that. As we re-shore manufacturing, we will hopefully see that change.
And this is exactly why I've been self-employed since 1992.
The last company I worked for as an actual employee had me training new hires for a phone-based tech support role. We supported a bunch of software applications, and I was the guy teaching the people who had to answer the phones - how the software worked, how to troubleshoot, how to deal with customers. "No, sir, that's not a cup holder, it's your CD-ROM tray."
I started out doing support myself, but once they saw I had a knack for teaching, I got promoted to training manager. I spent a year developing all the training materials from scratch - manuals, exercises, call scenarios, everything.
Then one day, they decided they didn't need me anymore. Why keep paying me when they could just hand my training materials to someone else and have them walk people through it?
That was the moment I decided I was done depending on other people for my livelihood. I was going to build something for myself.
And I've never looked back.
Michael Olgren
@Reply 12 months ago
This post reminded me of one of my favorite anecdotes as an admin:
CEO: These training programs are too expensive. What if we train people and then they leave for another job?
HR: Yeah, but what if we don’t train them and they stay?
If you are a Visitor, go ahead and post your reply as a
new comment, and we'll move it here for you
once it's approved. Be sure to use the same name and email address.
This thread is now CLOSED. If you wish to comment, start a NEW discussion in
Captain's Log.
