IT Manager's Handbook: Getting Your New Job Done by Bill Holtsnider, Brian D. Jaffe Page A

for example, before the project to upgrade starts.
    Certification
    Most IT Managers don’t have the luxury of sending people to training just for the sake of training. As such, few IT departments are willing to sponsor their employees for training that leads to vendor or technology certification. This is simply because managers know that some of the classes in a certification program these days are fillers—they are of little or no use to a specific employee’s job responsibilities. Of course, there are exceptions. Some managers may use certification, or training in general, as a way of rewarding highly valued employees or for those employees whose responsibilities are very specialized. Also, while sending an employee to the requisite classes doesn’t guarantee certification, the employee still has to pass the exam. (Note that some companies won’t pay the exam fee if the employee doesn’t pass, which creates a nice incentive for the employee to work hard to pass it on the first try.)
    Different certifications have come in and out of fashion over the years. At the start, in the early 1990s everyone wanted to be a CNE (Certified Novell Engineer). Years later, network certification became the most popular, such as Cisco’s CCNE. Beyond that, security and project management became the “it” certificates to have ( CISSP and PMP). The value of certification is discussed in more detail in Chapter 3, Staffing Your IT Team on page 65 .
    What If the Employee Takes a Training Class and Then Uses His New-Found Skills to Find Another Job?
    Be Honest about This Problem
    One effective technique is simply to address the issue with the employee beforehand, while you are still making a decision about whether they should go to training. As is often the case in business situations, bringing the topic out in the open can go a long way toward easing everyone’s fears. Just discussing the issue doesn’t create any legal arrangement, of course, but it should let both sides know where the other stands. As a manager, you can openly express your concern about the possibility that the employee will “take the training and run.” You hope the employee will reply that the job is much bigger than one skill set, they like the environment, they would work here for free they like it so much, and so on. But if they don’t, if they hedge or are evasive, or blurt out a series of negative statements, you’ve probably got a problem that a training class isn’t going to solve.
    Employee Agreements
    Some companies have a policy that says an employee has to sign an agreement to reimburse the cost of training if she resigns within X months of taking a class. Of course, many employers and employees are hesitant about even making such an agreement because it creates somewhat of a non-trusting, non-supportive relationship. Before asking your employees to agree to something like this, make sure you discuss the issue with your HR department—there is probably an existing policy about it.
    Because the IT world is so fluid, this situation works the other way, too. Employees can spend months on certification programs for a company and then the company changes direction. For example, one IT Manager had his entire Oracle database certification paid for but the company decided (at the last minute) to stay with Microsoft SQL. He eventually left to go to an Oracle shop.
    Nontechnical Training
    When considering IT training, you generally think about technical training. It’s important to remember that some of your staff may also benefit tremendously from nontechnical training as a way of expanding their horizons, such as the following:
•Time management (for those who have trouble staying organized)
•Business writing (for those who have to prepare memos and reports)
•Presentation skills (for those who have to give presentations to groups)
•Interpersonal skills (for those who need help with communications or conflict management)
•Supervisory skills (for