How to get your company to pay for professional development
If you’re reading this, you’re an ambitious go-getter with a learning mindset. What employer wouldn’t love that? And if they love your learning mindset, obviously they’d want to support your professional development, right?
Except budgets come into play. And when you ask them to foot the bill for your workshop or membership, you hear the dreaded, “Well, if we pay for this for you, we’ll have to pay for everything for everybody else!” (some solutions for that down below).
The good news is, there are ways to pitch professional development so it works for the company and for you. Whether you want to expense a professional development book, a workshop or certification, or an entire conference, here’s how to get your company to pay for your professional development.
Focus on the value and impact for the organization
It doesn’t matter what your ask is; you’re much more likely to find a sympathetic ear if you make it about the organization rather than about you.
Often, when we want something, we focus on how important it is to us. But human beings care about their own interests—or the interests of their company or bottom line. They want to know the impact, the ROI, the value. Why should they care about what you want? Convince them by appealing to what they want.
What probably sounds more impactful to your CEO or head of HR?
I was wondering if you would consider paying for me to go to X conference. I think it’ll really help my personal growth and I’m really interested in the topic. I know that I’ll make some great connections by attending and I’ll learn a lot.
That’s all me me me. What about this:
In your quarterly update in April, you mentioned that a key area of focus for the rest of the year is X. The ___ conference is coming up in May and there will be two days of programming dedicated specifically to X. I’d like to attend to sharpen my skills in that area and would be excited to bring back key takeaways for the team. Is there a good time to talk about the budget and see if I would be able to expense this? I know Y client will be there as well—if I can connect with them while I’m there, let me know.
This goes for basically all communication, all the time: find out what matters to your audience and help them realize that you getting what you want is going to help them get what they want.
Get some bang for your company’s buck
If a blank check for your professional development doesn’t seem likely, suggest group programs instead of individual opportunities.
For example, instead of your company paying thousands of dollars for you to become a professional certified coach, suggest that your entire management team attends a peer coaching program during your next management training.
If you want to attend a workshop, send a note to the decision-maker at your company and let them know that you think the offering would benefit the entire team. Here’s an example I’ve shared with Commcoterie workshop attendees:
Hi CEO/CPO/Head of Employee Engagement/My Boss,
Last week, I attended Commcoterie’s coaching culture roundtable. They’re a communication consultancy that helps individuals and organizations make their communication more effective, inclusive, and engaging. At the roundtable, they talk about how to integrate coaching communication techniques into everyday conversations.
Last year, our mentorship program fizzled out only a few weeks after it launched, and one piece of feedback that we heard from participants was that the conversations didn’t really add value—people didn’t know what to ask or how to help one another. Commcoterie has a peer coaching program that teaches teams exactly how to do that. I know HR wants to kick off the mentorship program again this year, and I think adding this peer coaching program at the beginning would set it up for success.
If you’re interested, you can connect with Commcoterie’s founder, Caitlin, here. I talked to her a little bit during the roundtable, so she is familiar with our work. I’m happy to send an intro email as well, if that’s helpful.
The basic formula is what your ask is, why it’s important to the organization, and the easy way to make it happen. The more seamless you make the process, the more likely you are to get what you want.
If you want them to pay for professional development for just you, offer to come back and teach others what you learned
I love teaching, so this is one of my favorites. Say something like, “I know the topics that we’re going to cover at the conference would be extremely valuable, not just to me, but to the team. I would love to come back and share key takeaways at our next All Hands meeting.”
If the idea of presenting what you learned at a conference or workshop is scary, get creative. Offer to write it up in a blog post or memo to send around. Say that you’ll share any resources like decks or videos. If you can prove that the benefit isn’t just for one person one time, your company might be more likely to shell out the funds.
If the answer is no, negotiate
A lot of resources about asking your company to pay for things throw some bargaining into the very first ask—but then you’re backing yourself into a corner. Don’t lay all your cards on the table from the start. Ask for the ideal situation and then leave some room to negotiate if needed.
If negotiating is scary, try the rule of three: make three offers, and if the answer is still no, then you can tell yourself you made an honest effort (and try to perfect your strategy for your next ask).
Can you pay for me to fly to this conference + stay in a hotel + all my meals? No?
May I remind you how valuable this will be to the organization? How about I pay my way and the company pays for the conference ticket? No?
What I learn is really going to have a huge impact. I know there is a virtual option—is that something I can expense?
Negotiating isn’t easy, but it takes practice. The good news is, if you practice on lower-stakes things like this, you’ll strengthen that muscle when it comes to higher-stakes things (hellooo raises).
You deserve to be supported at work, and professional development is part of that
Oftentimes, it’s left up to individuals to plan and pay for their own professional development. While I’m all about lifelong learning, I also think that it’s the responsibility of organizations to invest in the learning and development of their employees.
If you focus on the value and impact for the organization, explore innovative ways to make your learning part of the company’s budget, offer to share what you’ve learned with others, and advocate for yourself, you’ll be well on your way to getting the professional development support you deserve.