'It doesn't sound that sexy, but actually it was massively impactful': Cost-effective learning strategies from HR experts at HRFutureFest
When resources are tight, getting creative about employee development isn’t just smart—it’s essential. That was the core message behind the panel “Ahead of the curve: upskilling on a budget – high-impact learning, low-cost solutions,” held June 3 at the Toronto Event Centre as part of HRFutureFest.
Moderated by Tawny Stephen, founder and L&D specialist at The Microlearning Institute, the discussion brought together seasoned professionals from across sectors: Nupur Khandelwal of LCBO, Jody Fiorino of Manulife, and Kirsten I’Anson of Community Savings Credit Union.
The panellists shared candid, real-world examples of how they’ve made impactful learning happen—even when the budget didn’t stretch very far.
Rather than bringing in typical training vendors, I’Anson described how her team took a more unexpected approach when they needed to improve listening skills.
“We partnered with some paramedics to do this training,” she said.
“So rather than getting someone from the learning development space, which would have been very costly and pretty run of the mill, albeit good, we partnered with paramedics, because we knew that out of anyone, they’re better at listening and getting information than anyone else.”
Paramedics, she explained, routinely operate under pressure and must extract critical details quickly. That kind of real-world expertise added depth—and credibility—to the training in ways traditional providers often can’t.
To stretch budgets further, Community Savings often co-creates sessions with local professionals, added l’Anson.
“If you’re really wanting to keep your budget low, but you want to bring in some really interesting, high impact speakers, you can create the content, or co-create the content with them. For us, we sometimes bring community professionals in to bookend our training. So bring someone in at the beginning to set the scene, we deliver the bulk of it, and then at the end, we’ll have them again, speaking.”
This model keeps costs down, she explained, but still makes room for fresh voices—and strong starts and finishes—for each session.
I’Anson encouraged attendees to look inside their organisations for talent development solutions: “Get imaginative. You don’t have to have professional trainers coming to do your learning. You’ve got people in your teams.”
She gave a striking example: her team trained credit union tellers to become lenders—a move that reduced recruiting costs by approximately $40,000 a year.
“It doesn’t sound that sexy, but actually it was massively impactful,” she said.
“It was low cost. We actually saved money because of our recruitment costs, and it was great for the team, who then saw extra learning and development opportunities within the organisation.”
The key investments? Internal mentorship, and a bit of coaching support.
“We used internal mentors to do so much of that training… they only get $1 more an hour, which is not a lot of money… but there was a great appetite to do it… and we’ve brought clarity coaches and registered clinical counselors to work with the mentors and actually build up their own… leadership skills.”
Khandelwal echoed the value of tapping internal resources, particularly when learning is part of a broader talent strategy.
“We also are looking at leveraging internal facilitators,” she said.
“That’s another low cost solution… it’s looking at succession plan high potential. Who you want to develop and invest in, who do you want to shine the light on and elevate them and involve them in the conversation?”
Khandelwal stressed the importance of preparing subject matter experts with the right tools—because while they know the content, they’re not always ready to facilitate it.
Artificial intelligence is already reshaping learning programs, but panellists emphasized it has to be handled with care—especially in regulated environments.
“I work in a government agency, and as part of that, there is a lot of responsibility looking into risk factors, confidentiality, what is okay from a legal and risk perspective,” said Khandelwal.
“So I would say the conversation has evolved. It’s more around… how much and when are you using AI? We are leveraging AI for drafting, with a human element of vetting, making it specific and relevant to our culture… and that responsibility and accountability still stays with us.”
Stephen agreed, noting that many L&D professionals have gone from hiding their use of AI to embracing it.
“It’s been a journey of integrating AI, and now it’s just kind of an expectation,” she said. “Now we get AI policy training requests, because you just realize people are using it anyway.”
Fiorino didn’t mince words: “We’re all using it, and if you aren’t using it, then you are missing out on some low cost opportunities.”
She encouraged L&D leaders to work with IT teams to find opportunities: “Utilizing Gen AI and AI technologies is going to continue to come down in cost… you’ve got to be using it, and if you’re not, then let’s chat.”
It’s easy to try doing too much, especially when juggling budget limitations, Fiorino pointed out, and offered a reminder to keep it simple. “We have to be really strategic in saying, ‘This is the thing that I’m focusing on this year… and these are the ways it’s going to create value.”
That intentional focus makes it easier to show executives what the learning investment delivered.
I’Anson added that small teams with limited funding often end up more innovative than their well-resourced counterparts.
“Getting scrappy, embracing an underdog mentality can really hone your creativity,” she said.
“I really think it comes from that mentality… we’ve got this challenge, we’ve got no budget, but we’re damned if we’re not going to do a good job of it.”
And to be strategic, leaders need to be clear not just on what to do—but on whom it’s for, added Khandelwal.
“What is your differentiating factor as a team, as organization, what brings you competitive advantage?” she said.
“Maybe this is not the year for doing something for a specific audience. Maybe this is the year to support high potential frontline employees… or senior executives… it may differ from year to year.”
