Self-Funded vs Employer-Funded Courses: Considerations

I often recommend that if you’ve asked for a pay rise and your boss says an increase is off the table, you could use the opportunity to negotiate other benefits such as flexibility, a title promotion, or getting a Change Management training course (such as my Leading Successful Change program) paid for you by your employer.

Some companies offer training budgets that reset every year, and other times training can be costed differently in the organisation which makes it more desirable for a boss to sign off on training rather than an ongoing salary increase (and all the paperwork and admin headaches that could go along with that!).

And while free training sounds like a great option on the surface of it, as with everything there’s some things that you might like to consider before taking the consolation prize. 

Be careful about the course 

When you give the power over to your boss to choose the Change Management training, they might select an industry accreditation that gives you the certification but not the practical, fit-for-purpose tools, templates, and techniques that you actually need for Change delivery and to lead engaging and empowering change. And even more importantly: building the confidence to showcase your skills and success if you were to apply for a job in Change Management externally. So often newbie Change Managers do these well-known but archaic theory-heavy, methodology-driven accreditations and once finished, realise they don’t know what to actually do on Day 1 of a Change role. How do I know? Because I’m the one who’s brought in to fix the engagement issues from struggling methodology-driven Change Managers! My LSC students who have done other Change accreditations from a range of providers share exactly the same feedback on our monthly LSC coaching calls. And I experienced it myself. Early in my Change career, my employer did actually pay for my Change Management accreditation and I’m forever glad I already knew how to do Change delivery before I attended because I’d have walked out of that week-long course completely confused! I’m also glad my employer paid for the accreditation because if I’d paid for it out of my own pocket, I’d have been so disappointed on the return on investment. It’s not your boss’ fault. The most well-known Change accreditations have been around the longest and it’s all that most people know (especially if they don’t work in Change Management themselves). But it doesn’t mean they’re actually the best training offering out there for leading real day-to-day change or helping you build a career in Change Management. That’s what my students say really sets my Leading Successful Change program apart from the other courses in the market - it focuses on how to actually “do” Change Management rather than just talking waffly “about” Change, shares real-world tools, templates and techniques to use in projects and teams, and provides personalised career support and confidence during the course and beyond with lifetime access (plus of course, like most certificates, you get a digital credential with LSC, too!).

Find out if you can pay the gap

If the Change Management course you want to do is out of their training budget, your boss may automatically say no. But you can counter this by asking what the maximum budget for learning is, and then suggesting that you pay the difference yourself. When students want to join my Leading Successful Change program via employer-funded, I usually create an invoice and it would be super easy to split this into two with the relevant amounts for you and your employer to pay. There's so many ways of being more flexible and creating solutions that people will sign off on. 

Doing training will improve your performance in your current role

Remember that many courses can be used to improve your performance and success in your current role, not just in a new career. This might be of interest from a personal tax perspective (talk to your accountant or see the relevant tax laws for your country - I’m not an expert and can’t give advice on this) or from an ethical perspective if you feel guilty about doing employer-funded training and then leaving the company. But the truth is, any Change Management course can be used to build your skills for your current role because we all lead and receive change. Many of my Leading Successful Change members don’t work in Change Management or plan to, but the tools, templates and techniques I share are so flexible that they can be used in any role that works with people or leads projects, teams or groups (like… every role!). This is especially true of the advanced Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Coaching techniques I’ve built into the program that can be used in both a professional and personal setting. 

Some employers require you to stick around

Sometimes, workplaces may require you to stay with the organisation a guaranteed amount of time after the employer-funded training, otherwise you need to pay them back for your course investment. If you are planning to stay in your company, this might not be an issue. But if you’re keen to move companies (especially to take advantage of potential pay increases), this could create a problem. You’ll just have to feel into whether or not it sits right for you if you know you actually want to leave that company. And if your current job is impacting your health and wellbeing and happiness, investing your own personal money for your training could be priceless.

I can’t tell you whether to self-fund or employer-fund your Change Management course. What I can say is that investing a few thousand dollars upfront could lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in just a few months or years. When I invested $17,000 in my package of NLP and Coaching courses, I made it back within months when I got my $20,000 pay rise. And within 3 years I’d tripled my salary to almost $200,000. Invest in the thing that matters most – yourself. When you do, magic happens and the universe backs you back.

If you’d like a taste tester of my Leading Successful Change program, I’m super thrilled to announce that my free Change Tools Masterclass has just opened up for registrations. This week-long epic event, with awesome future of work-focused content, will be filled with my tried-and-tested templates that I use every time I’m leading change with Australia’s biggest companies.

I’ll step through each template and use live demos to fill them with the information that matters most for your change.

We kick off Tuesday 11 March and you can register your free spot now:

CLICK HERE to register your free spot on my epic Change Tools Masterclass

PLUS you'll hear directly from some of my Leading Successful Change students how they made the move to Change or have brought change skills into their leadership.

Lata xx