According to Brett Richard, Manager of Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness for Sasol, “behavior change is the heart of sustainable results.” Further, as companies execute mega projects and site expansion, training to improve productive behavior should occur at every level of an organization’s leadership and culture.
Citing a study conducted by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), Richard shared that, in 2013, organizations across the United States spent $164.2 billion on employee learning and development. Richard said chief financial officers might question that level of expenditure, asking, “What happens when we invest in the development of our people and they leave us?”
“But what happens if you don’t invest, and they stay?” he hypothesized, speaking at the Downstream Conference and Exhibition, held recently in Galveston, Texas.
Noting that same ASTD study revealed that, conversely, only $15.5 billion was spent on leadership development, Richard added that increasing that amount would be a wise investment. “Leadership behaviors are responsible for up to 50 percent of frontline performance variance,” he said.
This article will appear in its entirety in the September issue of BIC Magazine.
