Training can be a large expense in business, and for that reason many companies try to run their training courses as cheaply and as economically as possible. Although that's a good attitude to have in many facets of business, it can actually harm your business in the long run. Sometimes with training, less isn't more - and here are some reasons why.

1. More staff trained saves more money

Due to the attempt to be economical, if you only send your staff to be trained when it's desperately needed, you may end up booking training courses in dribs and drabs, for few people. Although this will be cheaper than training, say, thirty people all at once - it will cost you more in the long run, just like buying in bulk would be a greater outlay than an individual item at first, but the cost per unit (i.e. the cost per member of staff trained) will be less.

2. More training means more choice

Many businesses only train their staff in what they consider to be absolutely essential for their job role. Although this makes perfect sense, it would be even better if some of your staff could get extra training for more skills outside their role.

Why? It means that if, for example, you had a staff member off sick, you have more qualified people available to step in and take the reins, making sure the business continues as usual and doesn't lose money due to the slowing of productivity. Extra training means that you can promote from within the business easier instead of going through the expense of a recruitment drive to the outside world. What's more, your staff will appreciate the new opportunities open to them.

3. More volume could mean more discounts

If you have a good relationship with your chosen training company, they may give you a discount for the volume of trainees you are sending in per financial year. This benefits you as a business trying to reduce costs.

Even if you don't plan on continuous training with the same company, there may well be a discount to be had if you can negotiate some money off for the sheer volume of clients in one go. Someone who plans on sending an entire 300-strong company for training has more chance of a monetary negotiation than someone who is only sending a team of five. The chances are, the cost per person for the training will be far less.

Overall, it makes sense to consider that less isn't more in the world of training. It's never a bad thing to get as much training done as possible, since it can only benefit you in the long run. Saving money isn't always about the figures on the invoice, it's about staff morale and opportunity, work days not being lost due to lack of skills, and having a strong, forward looking company who has invested in training today and who will inevitably reap the rewards later.