Spend a little, save a lot: 6 cost-effective ways to train your workforce

Setting training objectives may be the most significant, yet most overlooked way to cut down cost of training initiatives, according to Papangelis. Clearly defined goals — figuring out which specific skills, skillsets or attitudes are to be nurtured with training beforehand — will help to avoid spending on unnecessary content, courses, media formats and external resources that are not aligned with the objective.

Even though it may seem like a significant investment to start with, a proper training platform — or Learning Management System — will help with controlling and cutting down cost in the long run, Papangelis says. A good LMS isn’t just for learners to access the content, but it also offers assessment and reporting tools to monitor course completion and performance. Different vendors offer different pricing schemes, and a good practice is opting-in for a platform that offers a free version, such as TalentLMS, that will allow testing with no time restrictions. This way, there’s no commitment to a costly pricing package before even knowing if the tool is a good fit and a chosen platform ensures learners’ adoption.