It is vital in small companies that those responsible for training understand its significance and are able to train effectively. This includes understanding how to determine training needs, decide on appropriate training and set training objectives, as well as skills in actually training others. In the absence of personnel or training specialists, the commitment of the managing director, line managers and supervisors is literally all that the smaller company has.
Many companies manage the training function badly. As research has consistently shown, this problem is not confined to smaller companies but it may be more difficult for these companies to turn the situation around. The smaller business often lacks both a training infrastructure--training specialists, budgets, training materials, etc.--and a training capability, namely the time and the skills.