Another legal issue is employers’ requiring employees to sign training contracts in order to protect the

costs and time invested in specialized employee training. For instance, a telecommunications fi rm paid
$17,000 each to train four network technicians and certify them in specialized equipment. The fi rm
required that each of the technicians sign a training contract whereby onefourth of the cost would be
forgiven each year the employee stayed following the training. A technician who left sooner would be
liable to the fi rm for the unforgiven balance. Health-care organizations, IT fi rms, and some other
employers use training contracts especially for expensive external training. TRAINING AND
ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY Training represents a signifi cant HR expenditure for most employers. But
it is too often viewed tactically rather than strategically, which means that training is seen as a short-
term activity rather than one that has longer-term effects on organizational success. Fortunately, more
and more employers have recognized that training must be increased. One survey found that about half
of the fi rms surveyed planned to increase their yearly training budgets.2 Strategic Training Strategic
training is linked to how the organization accomplishes its organizational goals. It can have numerous
organizational benefi ts. First, strategic training enables HR and training professionals to get intimately
involved with Training Required and Regular Safety compliance Driving provisions Wage and hour rules
Employee orientation Benefits enrollment Sexual harassment prevention Interpersonal and Problem
Solving Communications Writing skills Team relationships Coaching skills Problem analyses Conflict
resolution Job and Technical Customer service Equipment operations Record-keeping needs
Telecommunications IT systems Product details Developmental and Career Business trends Strategic
thinking Leadership Change management Career planning Performance management FIGURE 9-1 Types
of Training 262 Section 3 Developing Human Resources the business, partner with operating managers
to help solve their problems, and make signifi cant contributions to organizational results. Additionally, a
strategic training mind-set reduces the likelihood of thinking that training alone can solve most
employee or organizational problems. It is not uncommon for operating managers and trainers to react
to most important performance problems by saying “I need a training program on X.” With a strategic
training focus, the organization is more likely to assess such requests to determine what training and/or
non-training approaches might address the most important performance issues. The value of training
can be seen at Walt Disney World where the company has established specifi c training