How to Ask Your Leader to Pay for Your Learning + Development

Could a development program such as the Director of Operations certification benefit an employer or client you are already working with?

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Today we are answering a question that we are frequently asked: How can I leverage my leader to financially assist with the cost of the Director of Operations (DOO) certification program (or another professional development program)?

Present Conditions Needed

These are the conditions that need to be present before you ask anyone to contribute to your training and development.

You need to be in this business for at least 6 months, and have complete buy-in to the business. You need to deeply connect to the value and mission of the business you are supporting, and resonate with the leader’s vision.
You have already brought success to this business, and have set/met goals for them and with them. You will need to provide documentation such as the metrics/reporting to prove that you have contributed to the success of this business.
Do you have the intention of staying with this business for the next year? Make sure you have honest intentions to bring this business a ROI if they are investing in you.
Do your research. Ensure that you are really invested in the program and the content that you are purchasing, and that it will be applicable to the growth plan of the company you are supporting.
Make sure you have time to commit to the program you are investing in.

The Proposal

You will need a proposal, and to be able to effectively communicate to the leader. What are the benefits of them sponsoring you? What are the benefits of you learning this new knowledge? This is the first thing you will need to include in your proposal.

Benefits of DOO program

The content is operations focused. We focus on 5 key pillars: strategy, key performance indicators, project management, human resources, and finances. These will all be translated into their business.
You will gain new ideas and frameworks that you can implement immediately.
You will be able to perform case studies and activities on their business within the first 2 weeks of the program.
You will have access to a very specific community of subject matter experts, which gives an extra layer of support
Retention rates: when businesses contribute to the people who have been good to them, the satisfaction rate is higher and leads to a mutually beneficial partnership, and less turnover
You get to walk away with greater responsibility, and the ability to manage and lead.

Create a job description

I want you to create a job description with the new skills you are going to learn. I want you to showcase how you are going to uplevel as a result of this training.

In the DOO program, as you go through each discipline you will be able to practice on your business so they will get immediate benefit.

The Facts

Research the program information:

What are the dates
When are thee meeting times
How much time is needed from you
The price

Check out directorofops.com to gather all of the necessary details.

The ROI

The next part of your proposal is to show the expected ROI. How can you show the leader how their investment will contribute to a greater profit margin? If you can do this it’s very likely they will say yes.

How will these skills contribute to the bottom line?
How fast will you be able to get a full return on investment?

“We want the student, as well as their leader, to be overly satisfied.”

All of this information is going to culminate into a formal proposal.

Communication

Set up a meeting to deliver the proposal, and have a follow up email ready to go. Communication is key during this entire process. Be confident, eager, and have your facts together so the leader will say “Heck Yes!”

Payment Piece

Propose that they pay some or all; you will need to use your discernment with this request. Be realistic and flexible, because there are a lot of different ways to do this.

Best of luck!

Weekly Ops Activity

Head over to the Facebook group and let us know if you have a leader in mind who you are planning on asking to contribute to your learning and development.

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