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IT CAN BE an incredibly costly investment for a company to support its staff in further education – the cost of tuition fees, not to mention the time spent away at lectures and on projects. It’s a big decision for them. HR managers always ask ‘what’s the return on investment?’
Maybe I’m cynical, but most companies don’t invest in staff benefits just for the craic. It’s a calculated investment with the objective of directly, or indirectly, improving the company’s bottom line. Therefore if you want your employer to invest in your education you need to be able to demonstrate, up front, how it will benefit their end-of-year figures.
Why should a company pay several thousand euro for a member of staff to go and get a further qualification? To keep them happy? Maybe. But there are less expensive ways to engage staff – training courses, flexi time, away-days. Or couldn’t they just buy you a foosball table (available online for €80) like some organisations do?
If you can prove the value to them, it does makes sense for your company to support you.
The global professional services firm Accenture conducted research with a health insurance company in the US and found that there was an 129% return on investment from supporting staff to pursue additional qualifications. This was achieved through improved productivity – staff were better at getting work done; and loyalty – staff were more likely to stay, therefore cutting down on an expensive recruitment process and training of new staff.
In my experience the big questions a company will have are:
But no more than any request to get your company to spend money, your case needs to be compelling.
A further qualification can be very useful to you. It can up-skill you, fill a gap in your knowledge, improve your earning potential, help you make the ‘next step’ in your career. It can also cost you a fair chunk of change. And time. So there is value in getting the job to pay for it.
Like asking for an increase in salary, are you worth it? And will they get the return on the investment? It can’t be all about you.
The same rules apply when asking for them to shell out for a qualification. You need to have done the groundwork.
You need to have researched the courses that you would like to pursue and have a logic for why it would be of value to the organisation. For example, if you’re an accountant and you want to do a masters in botany, it’s unlikely your company will invest. Unless of course there’s a huge emerging market in the flower business.
Make sure you are into the course you choose
You also have to make sure it’s the right course for you. Yes, have the reasons why it’s of value to the company but for you to really commit to it you should know what would be of interest and value to you. You should have a detailed understanding of what the curriculum contains. A lot of organisations are now specifying the grades that their staff must obtain in their supported studies. So if you’re not really into, it may not be worth hassle.
Also, and certainly up there on the importance list, you need to know how much time it’s going to take out of the office. And how you’re going to deal with your workload.
These are all considerations that you have to worked through before going to your boss asking for an investment in you.
It’s also worth noting that your company may ask you to sign an education contract. It essentially will aim to lock you in for a set period of time (typically two years) after you complete your studies to make sure you don’t skedaddle with your freshly-pressed parchment a week after getting it. And if you do head off into the sunset, you will have to pay them back the tuition fees.
Like any negotiation, don’t just think about you; think about the other side.
Eoghan McDermott is a Director of The Communications Clinic and is Head of Training and Careers there.
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Let’s see Wi-Fi map now just to compare.
@Tomas: Should be finished in about 90 years.
@Tomas: check the website
Very impressed with the detail.
We have the most expensive electricity in Europe. Why no proper competition as the companies only cut rates 3% when wholesale prices down 40%. What’s the regularator doing acting like the absent bank regulator that we wrongly still paying for with cuts to disabled services Tom Clunun highlighted.
Oh we still have Green Partys levies and carbon regressive taxes that the UK and a lot of other bigger countries don’t impose on customers
@Stan: Job of regulator who never seems to come on radio and explain what he does…..Job is to make sure options exist so customers can switch….Has no roll in encouraging price reductions just sets the maximum price….Not a consumer advocate just there to make sure several companies provide electricity….
@John003: we had the cheapest electricity in Europe when the ESB themselves set the price, now we have the regulator involved, he introduced competition, set the price and now we have the most expensive in Europe! Some joke
@Stan: no we don’t have the dearest rates in Europe, you may want to have another look.
Wholesale oil and gas rates only make up a small section of costs.
Transmission, distribution, generation, RES etc are external costs to the wholesale market
@Stan: somebody has to pay for the wind developer
@Windy Atlantic Way: somebody has to pay the inflated salaries in the ESB. Even Brendan Ogle said they were “spoilt”. Brendan was on 80 grand a year at the time.
@ricky bobby:
How can we resist. Helpless! At least we could fight the water tax.
Where did moths bump into before electricity was invented? No joke I’m seriously intrigued (and bored)…
@Noel James Doherty: Probably oil lamps…
@Noel James Doherty: candle light, parrofin lamps, etc
@Michael Leahy: the light bulb really screwed up the moth didn’t it Michael
@Michael Collins: are there moths on their way to the sun now going, it’s gonna be worth it
@Noel James Doherty: lol!! Far fewer burnt alive though!!!
@Noel James Doherty: Electricity wasn’t invented, it was discovered.
@Gary: the logic behind your reply Gary has neither been invented or discovered yet
@Noel James Doherty: And yet… he’s right!
Unfortunately the vision that rolled out electricity to all is now gone, we managed to put this kind of infrastructure in over the years when Ireland was destitute, today we have a very lacklustre broadband plan that seems to suggest rural Ireland will remain without any high speed broadband for years if not decades, lagging the rest of Europe.
@Karl: my result now http://beta.speedtest.net/result/6652106540 from rural Leitrim . I wouldn’t say we are that bad just dont get your broadband from eircom woops I mean eir
90 years on and we still suffer from power cuts…….
@Kerry Blake: why don’t you move to somewhere like Florida or somewhere in the hurricane corridor and you’ll know what power cuts are really like
@Kerry Blake: always going to be operational issues. They are rare enough to be fair
@Jamie: Why would I move to Florida to experience power cuts when I can do the same in Ireland like…..
@Kerry Blake:
I guess outages can vary depending on your location. In nth Dublin I can recall 1 outage of 30 minutes in past year due to lightning strike (last month). Over past 30 years it been perhaps once every 2 years. First world “problem”.
@Kerry Blake: wow, your some idiot
@ricky bobby: The irony in your comment.
@Gary: I don’t see it?
I wrote about some of my dad’s memories of electricity coming to East mayo
http://fensterdj.tumblr.com/post/155294534135/the-electrification-of-rural-mayo-some-memories
1978 Black Valley, Co. Kerry.
1996 Cape Clear, Co. Cork
And now we are faced with mandatory/compulsory ‘smart’ meters.
@eastsmer: what’s wrong with smart meters? You wont be paying anything extra and it should make the suppliers more efficient. Unless your are one of the loonies who images smart meters give you cancer, AIDS, autism as well as spying on you?
@Pat O’Leary: Why do you think we are being forced to install ‘smart’ meters ?
If they were for our benefit we would ask for them.
@Pat O’Leary:
“Won’t be paying anything extra”. Ah! Got to love the innocence Lol..
Electricity very expensive,why do we pay regulators huge salaries.if they were on minimum wage they would not be so generous to these big company’s.they should be put on it for 12 months.
Jaysus, Dunboyne wasn’t connected until the 1950′s! Two world wars had already finished by then!
Much better map than Ryan Tubridys.
Perhaps they might find light in many of the 6 county areas in future also.
moneypoint power-station not on map?
Nice information and its really important to highlight how these projects were designed, built, ran and some decommisioned, and it was not a huge disaster i.e. their is huge NIMBYism now to critital infrastructure – but here is loads to show that in Ireland we actually do it reasonably well with concern for all. Yes some could be done better but in the most part Electric connections are very important for all..
.. pity the map does not include a layer for the stations which are owned by third parties. … Edenderry, Rhode peaking, Huntstown, synergen in ringsend..
Ok – I guess someone could go and add it, its all public layers.
Also some of the 400Kv line projects were massive in their own right too – cutting trho
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