As business conditions grow more challenging, many of us are tempted to set aside activities that don’t overtly contribute to the bottom line. Training and development (T&D) might look like one such easy target. But training can be a low-cost, high-return generator of competitive advantage—if it’s integrated with the combination of people and values that add up to your corporate culture.

Smart companies believe in finding superior people and holding on to them. One of the ways to encourage them to stay put is to offer personal development opportunities that lead to a variety of career paths inside the company.