Many business owners will spend top dollar to hire the best talent in the industry. They understand that no matter how great their products and services are, if they don’t have the right team behind them, operating the business successfully can be difficult. However, once they’ve hired the best, many business owners make the mistake of neglecting the importance of training and development. This unfortunately results in poor morale, unmotivated employees, and high turnover.
Your Employees are an Investment
Each employee you hire is an investment in your business. Like with any kind of investment, to get the greatest return, it is imperative to constantly improve, support, and monitor them. The same holds true for your staff. When you’re consistently helping them to improve, providing them with the tools they need, and giving them the support required to do their jobs, they will do it to the best of their ability. Employee development and training is just one way to enhance your employee investment.
Productivity Improves
Selecthub, a platform designed for corporations to compare and procure business software such as learning management systems, conducted a survey that produced pretty compelling results. Survey results on why continuous learning is essential showed that 39% of employers who invested in a system for employee learning and development saw a significant improvement in staff productivity. When employees are equipped with the tools and knowledge to best perform their jobs, they are more inclined to do so without hesitation. Learning new processes and trends for completing their employee responsibilities ultimately helps them to generate quality work faster.
Turnover Rates are Reduced
Hiring top talent is one chore, but keeping them engaged while on the job is another. One of the main reasons that great employees end up leaving their jobs is due to a lack of education and development. In other words, they feel as if the position is a dead end. Employees want to take advantage of training and career development courses that will not only help them do their jobs better, but will also put them in a better position to accept higher positions should they become available. Having a chance to move up the ladder is motivation for many employees to stay loyal.
It Keeps the Job Interesting
If you’ve ever been bored at work before, then you know it’s a recipe for disaster. Bored employees will most certainly start trouble that you don’t want in your workplace. Negative attitudes can begin to rub off on otherwise happy employees, conflicts can arise, poor work ethic develops, sloppy mistakes are made, and morale goes downhill. Employee career training and development is a great way to keep your staff engaged in their jobs. With interesting, relevant courses and programs available, employees are excited to see what new things they can learn that will enhance their ability to perform their jobs.
Starting an Employee Development Program
If you’re intrigued by the benefits of starting an employee development program, the thought may have crossed your mind to begin one in your organization. Here is a bit of advice on how to get started:
- Consider your business goals. What needs do you have now, and what needs will you have in the future? What areas of business would it be nice for your staff to be trained on?
- Consider your staff. Have a staff meeting and ask about programs and training they’re interested in. Discuss common problems they might be having, and discover which courses you should consider offering.
- Review platforms. Look into various platforms for training and career development. Which programs are most affordable? Which cater to your industry? And which are feasible for your staff?
- Determine how you’ll manage. Managing learning development and training courses for a large group of employees can be a daunting task. Your human resources department may feel it’s best to utilize platforms like learning managements systems which can be used to properly manage all of your employee development, training courses and progress.
The continual education and development of your staff might seem like an expense you don’t want to deal with, but when you consider all the benefits it brings to the workplace, it’s worth the investment. When you take the time to invest in the betterment of your staff, more often than not, they will return the favor ten times over.
