It's well known that when a company has to cut back on expenses, one of the first things to go is budget for training such as Excel courses. London-based companies like companies all over Europe are slashing their excess expenses and training managers are suddenly left with no money to do their jobs. How can they continue to provide necessary employee development?

Prioritize Your Training Needs

It is rare that an organization completely eliminates training, so managers are usually faced with reduced rather than eliminated budgets. It becomes a matter of stretching this new budget to meet the company's needs.

Go through the company's training schedule and ask hard questions about which courses are critically necessary. Team building and time management are useful skills for long-term employee development, but the company is not going to collapse if these courses are suspended for a year.

On the other hand, fundamental employee skills are necessary to the daily operation of the company. An organization with extensive spreadsheet operations would still need to send employees to Excel courses in London in order to remain competitive.

Look For Creative Solutions

"Thinking outside the box" has become such a clich