Justifying Professional Development to Your Company

Some find it difficult to get approval to spend money and time away from work to learn or develop a skill. Taking the time to explain how a professional development opportunity can be beneficial for your employer can help. Here are some suggestions to assist you in getting approval from your manager or company. 

Presenting to Your Manager

• Purpose of Attendance - make a list of the things you would like to accomplish
• How will your company benefit?
  • Will any part of the program help solve a current issue at your company?
  • Can you find one idea that will increase revenue and/or decrease costs?
  • How else might your company benefit?
• How will you benefit?
• Expand your personal and professional network
• Learn new skills
• Solve a specific issue
• Create a memo or complete standard request form
  • Review how the training opportunity is relevant to your company and/or you by reiterating the points you noted above
  • Commit to and follow through in writing a detailed account of your experience upon your return and publicize it. Managers will appreciate and be likely to approve future funding if you share the wealth of your knowledge with co-workers. 
• Schedule a follow-up meeting with your boss to discuss the request

Expenses and Budget Considerations

• What other costs are involved in this opportunity? (travel, hotel, etc.)
• Of those costs, which ones am I willing to cover, if necessary, and which ones will I ask the company to finance?
• Does the company need to have dollars in the budget right now?
• Is there money in another departmental budget that is unused?

Other Points to Ponder

• Would you or your manager like to speak with someone who attended the SBE Leadership Development Course? Contact the SBE office, and we will put you in touch with someone.
• What differentiates the SBE Leadership Development Course from other management or leadership courses?
  • This course is geared specifically to broadcast engineers.
  • Because this course is so interactive, you will be familiar with the unique challenges described by other attendees because they are in the broadcast engineering field, too. 
• Professional development can prove extremely beneficial to companies
  • Increased morale
  • Decreased turnover
  • Enhanced job performance
  • Efficiency improvements
• Even in lean times, workforce development is a necessity for forward-thinking organizations
• Regarding the leadership courses offered by SBE - convey to your manager that you have an interest in working in a more productive way with others in your organization and that leadership training is beneficial to help you accomplish this 

• SBE programs are seen as an excellent value based on SBE's reputation for quality and relevant programming
  • Click here for what attendees said about the Leadership Development Course
  • Click here for what attendees said about the Ennes Workshops
• Identify revenue opportunities for your organization as well as ideas on how to reduce costs in specific areas - describe those areas

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Sample Memo to Your Manager

Date:         Date

To:            Your Manager

From:        You

Subject:    Educational Opportunity

      

The SBE Leadership Development Course is being held in Atlanta, July 31-August 2, 2012. The course content focuses on methods, concepts and techniques for improving operational and administrative team effort specifically in broadcast related companies.  Additionally, this course will help strengthen my ability to create willingness in those I work with to accept assigned responsibility and personal commitment in fulfilling all team accountabilities, assigned duties and job functions. It is being held in Atlanta and is three days in length, so I will be out of the office for XXX - be sure to figure in travel time days, including travel.

If given the opportunity to attend I can accomplish a great deal.

Insert your list of purpose of attendance from above

The cost for registration is $599. Taking into account travel and hotel I estimate the cost to be $XXXX.

I believe this will be a great investment for your company name here and a good use of my time.

Thank you for your consideration. I will await your approval.

Regards,

Your name

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Contact the SBE office if you have suggestions to add.