It’s unfortunate how common having a low budget is in Forensics. We have new employees that are freshly graduated from college that trained on the most expensive up-to-date equipment. Then, they get to our agencies and feel like they’ve been transported into the stone age. Then there’s you. The forensic supervisor that feels like you’re drowning and underqualified. All you want to do is get some outside help, but you have no budget to do it. So, how? Keep reading and we’ll go over our top ways to further your training when your forensic agency has no money.
Assess
Before you can tackle any problem you have to assess the situation.
– How does your agency handle training?
If there is required training and there’s already a process in place it’s important to evaluate this and make sure what you are asking for either aligns or further develops the already in-place system.
– How about furthering education?
Are there already furthering education plans in place? Try asking if you can swap out one of those with something that aligns better with what you’re looking for.
– Is anyone asking for more training?
This is where you can kind of test the waters a bit. If there are other supervisors looking for the same additional help that’s what we call a gap in your agency. It’ll be easier to get your request sorted or a bigger budget if you have a convincing argument.
– What’s the approach when asking?
Are you trying to get a bigger budget right after your higher up gets out of a stressful meeting? How about when you’ve come to them with a million problems? Look at how you are asking and tweak your plan.
– How is this training going to save the agency?
Always think long-term when going in for these requests. If you take a training on how to create a better training system for your Latent print team then how is that going to help the agency? Hint: turnover costs money and a better training system may help with your turnover
Online Courses
We LOVE in-person courses but you know you can always save a little bit of money by taking online classes. Also, there are some companies that offer hybrid courses.
Although there are some drawbacks to online courses they are a great workaround if your agency won’t give you the funds or time to attend in-person classes. You’re getting all of the same material just streamlined for the individual to spend less time training and more time applying.
If you’re thinking there’s no way there are any courses designed specifically for me. That my friend is where you are wrong. It’s all about what you’re looking to accomplish.
Want people to get on the same page? Try a course on building SOPs
Want your budget to be laid out more clearly? There’s courses on how to build a budget.
What about training program implementation? Ya there are some for that too.
The difference is applying these courses to your department. However, we struggled with these types of leadership courses in the past. Which is why we built out affordable courses designed for forensic professionals. Gap Science Ecourses – Close your Gaps
Perspective
Sometimes a little change in perspective is all we need to change our mindset.
If you are the most Type A efficient and thoughtful person do you really need to take a course on organization? Or, is this something that you could save money on and learn with time?
Is it you that needs the training or is it your team?
Even if the answer to these questions goes back to – no I need more training and my higher-ups and providing it with this budget – it’s still worth the self-evaluation.
Leave.
Oh, the Drama! Look, we know it’s not always possible and the turnover rates for agencies are ridiculously high but it’s an option.
If you feel like you aren’t being provided the tools and don’t want to have to invest that time & money yourself then there’s another agency out there that will.
Just make sure you’ve thought it through and communicated what you need clearly before you jump ship.
^^Of course, poor leadership, and supervision are other causes of high turnover. But that’s a different discussion for another time 😉
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In Addition, Money Problems in the Forensic Field
Also, we love forensics
