Seeking Insights on Employee Education Programs: Are They Worth the Investment?

Hi CiteHRs,

Our VP has informed me to arrange Employee Education Programs for employees of our organization. I have searched on the net and found the following institutes providing EEP:

1. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA)
2. Indian School of Business
3. Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
4. Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata
5. Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies
6. Harvard Business School IRC

I would like to know if any HR manager has gone through such programs and how beneficial they are for employees in terms of fees. Are there any other programs that we should consider?

Please reply at the earliest.

Regards,
Amol H.
AM - HR
Monarch Technologies Ltd.

Yeah, such educational programs do really benefit the employees because once an employee joins a job, he is unable to continue education. So, when an employer provides such programs, it is always better to ask the employee to contribute 25% of the fees so that the employee also takes interest. The company can then allow that employee to leave early for evening classes or as per the program schedule.

Dear Deadsoul,

Thanks for your reply. However, this is not related to the education of any particular employee. This is about your organization enrolling with IIM institutes/Business Institutes for courses lasting 2-5 days or maybe longer, with a cost of around 4L to 5L for educating bulk employees. This cost includes their stay, food, and so on.

I would like to know:
1. Are there any other institutes in India besides those mentioned above?
2. Is it worth paying such a high amount for these courses?

Please also review the attached document for a better understanding. I am looking forward to your response.

Thanks,
Amol H.
AM - HR
Monarch Technologies Ltd.

Dear Amol,

These executive coaching programs or MDPs are good, no doubt; however, they have their flip side too. One issue is that they can be expensive. Additionally, since these are syndicate programs, they do not customize to a particular industry, let alone customizing to your company. Therefore, when your executives participate in these MDPs, upon completion of the courses, they must return and determine exactly what is required for your company and create an action plan for the necessary changes.

How many executives have the time and patience to do this? How many executives have genuinely brought about change in their company after attending such seminars or MDPs? Consequently, the knowledge gained remains confined to the nominated executive only.

Given this context, I recommend that you suggest to your VP to opt for a Leadership Development Program (LDP) that spans 2-3 years. Within these 2-3 years, training is provided every quarter.

By adopting this approach, you will benefit from a customized program and rigorous monitoring to assess the implementation of the learning. Moreover, this method is also quite cost-effective.

While I advocate for the LDP, I do not discount the importance of MDPs per se. These programs could be reserved for top performers, and you may propose them as a reward for their exceptional performance.

I have a plan for the LDP. If you are interested in engaging my services, please feel free to do so. For now, to familiarize you with my offerings, I have attached my Training e-brochure to this message. Kindly discuss this with your VP and reach out to me.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Thanks for your concern, but LDP's and MDP's programs were conducted 1.6 years ago in the organization, and now we are looking for EEP's.

Regards,
Amol H.

Dear Mr. Amol,

It is always beneficial, but ensure that employees opting for such educational programs commit to serving your organization for a longer period. There are cases where employees have joined other organizations the moment they add certifications or qualifications to their profile. It's a fact.

With profound regards

Dear Amol_Humane,

It is good that the top management has such ideas. So, implementing the same will certainly be useful both for the employee and the management. It is a training and development activity.

One or two suggestions:
- According to me, nothing should be free, but this can be highly subsidized (that is 75%:25%) (75% to the company). Then the employee will also be serious.
- Take some kind of undertaking that such an employee will serve the organization for a certain period of time, say 5 years; otherwise, he will reimburse the amount.
- Check his progress during the study.

Dr. Nagaraj

Dear Amol,

I have no idea of the programs offered by those institutions, like the rest of the respondents who have offered their views so far. However, I have some anecdotal experience of courses offered in the UK. You need to be clear on the objectives of sending employees on such courses. For example, all site managers and managers of equal rank were sent to Manchester Business School long ago for a 3-day course. Some of the content covered was virtually useless to any of them.

As others have suggested, let people who go on such courses pay a certain percentage of the fee. This expenditure can be reimbursed to them by way of a bonus if they serve the company for the next two years. Binding them to serve for a number of years after the company spends the money may not be legal; you need to consult lawyers.

Have a nice day.

Simhan
A retired academic in the UK

Hi CiteHRs,

Our VP has informed me to arrange for Employee Education Programs for employees of our organization. I have searched on the net and found the following institutes providing EEP:

1. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA)
2. Indian School of Business
3. Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
4. Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata
5. Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies
6. Harvard Business School IRC

I would like to know if any HR manager has gone through such programs and how beneficial they are for employees with respect to the fees. Are there any other programs that we can consider?

Please reply at the earliest.

Regards,
Amol H.
AM - HR
Monarch Technologies Ltd.