Training and development are essential in a fast-paced and ever-changing corporate environment. It could be argued that a company’s most valuable asset is its employees and that investing in their training and development is critical to maintaining long-term growth and profitability.
These programs not only allow employees to develop their abilities but also enable businesses to increase employee productivity and enhance organizational culture.
Training and development can also lower staff turnover — and according to a 2020 Work Institute research, these programs are essential for a company’s bottom line. The same report shows that voluntary staff turnover costs U.S. businesses over $630 billion per year.
Some organizations view employee training to be an absolute waste of money. However, if you overlook the necessity of effective employee training, it can result in underdevelopment, turnover, culture problem, and workload imbalances. It can also harm business performance, team morale, and your capacity to attract and keep top talent.
Besides, employees will feel unappreciated, dissatisfied, and undervalued if not adequately trained. As a result, they will look for opportunities for advancement and development elsewhere.
Employees who are given regular chances to learn, grow, and progress are more likely to stay with an organization. According to Bob Nelson, author of 1,001 Ways to Engage, training and development are among the principal elements in employee engagement.
This post discusses the importance of employee training and development in an organization.
What are Training and Development?
Training is a specific program that imparts new information or skills to new or recently promoted employees. Employee development refers to a continuous commitment to improving job performance through training sessions, coaching, leadership mentoring, etc.
According to studies conducted by Gallup, companies that invest in staff development see increased sales and doubled profits compared to companies that do not. Employee engagement is boosted through continuous training and development, and a more productive, competitive, and engaged staff is crucial to your organization’s financial success.
Furthermore, according to Forbes, 93 percent of employees will stay longer when an organization invests in career development. Training and development help organizations in attracting and retaining top talents, improving employee satisfaction and morale, and increasing productivity and profitability. Companies with actively engaged and committed staff see 17% higher productivity rates and 41% lower absenteeism rates.
What is the importance of employee training and development?
Regardless of the cost of employee training, the return on investment is enormous if it is done consistently.
There are various reasons why employers should start training and development programs for their employees, including:
- Training and Development Boost Employee Performance
Training and development programs for employees are essential for improving their workplace performance. According to a 2019 employee survey published in The International Journal of Business and Management Research, 90 percent of those who participated agreed or strongly agreed that training and development programs helped them perform better.
As an employer, you can offer a variety of online or in-person training and development for your employees. And you can either use third-party training, in-house training, or off-site activities to provide those opportunities.
- It enhances employees’ skills and knowledge.
Employee training and development programs help employees enhance their knowledge and abilities in order to keep up with industry changes. These enhancements will have a favorable impact on staff productivity, which will boost an organization’s revenues and efficiency.
- It develops future leaders
Training and developing employees with the skills for future leadership can be crucial in establishing an organization for growth and evolution. An organization can get leadership talent through new recruits, or Human Resource professionals can choose present employees as managerial candidates.
Reports from Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) showed that having professional training and development programs ensures that a company is focused on future business objectives by preparing promotable talents.
- It Reduces Employee Turnover
Given the high cost of employee turnover, most organizations are looking for ways to retain staff on board. The importance of training and development to avoid staff turnover cannot be overstated.
According to the Work Institute research, “Job Characteristics was the number one rising category of turnover, up 117% since 2013.” In addition, an educational technology company, Instructure, published the findings of a poll in 2019, revealing that 70% of U.S. employees report they are at least partly inclined to quit their present employer and seek a new job with an organization that invests in training and development.
- It Boosts Employee Engagement in the Workplace
Exploring measures to increase employee engagement can help to reduce workplace boredom, which can lead to sentiments of unhappiness and poor work behaviors if left unchecked. Offering regular training and development initiatives can help in preventing workplace idleness, which will, in turn, help organizations build consistent re-evaluation of their workforce, skills, and procedures.
Additionally, it will impact organizational culture and prompt organization analysis and planning. It requires companies to analyze current talent and assess growth and development potential internally instead of through hiring.
Furthermore, Forbes analyzed data from over 7,000 employees to validate the impact of empowerment and employee engagement. They discovered that staff who felt a low percentage of empowerment had engagement ratings in the 24th percentile. In contrast, those who felt a high level of empowerment had engagement ratings in the 79th percentile.
How to Create Effective Employee Training and Development
Employers should start by establishing what skills and knowledge employees require to help the organization achieve its goals. This is to help develop effective training and development initiatives or programs. Then, depending on employee preferences and learning styles, companies should personalize their training and development strategies.
Below are ways to build training and development programs that will benefit your company and your employees.
- Assess the Business Impact
As an employer, think about what kind of impact you want your employee training and development programs to have on the company. Then you should figure out what the company’s goals are for such programs and devise a strategy to help them succeed.
- Discover Skills Gaps
Organization management should assess how employee performance affects the organization’s progress toward its objectives. Any skill deficiencies that delay the company’s success should be addressed during their training.
- Choose Suitable Learning Methods
When building training and development programs, organizations should consider factors such as staff background, preferences, and experience.
- Evaluate the Training Outcomes
Companies should review their training and development initiatives or programs after each activity. The experiences of your employees with the training and development programs — as well as their subsequent performance — can help guide future efforts to promote learning.
Allow professional hands to handle your employee’s training and development initiatives
Are you looking to build competency among your employees? Do you want to establish foundational inclusion knowledge in your organization? Do you require something more comprehensive?
At Partner For Impact, we offer training tailored for various audiences and designed to assist businesses like yours in proactively developing talents and fostering inclusion at all levels. We’ll collaborate with you to define your targeted staff performance and help you match it with the optimal delivery mechanism.
When it comes to carrying out company-wide training, we relieve you of the load. We can handle everything from registration to coordinating day-of activities to collecting feedback and reporting to leadership/management, allowing you to focus on other critical aspects of your business. We can also work with you as thought partners to develop your specific programs.
Partner For Impact always utilize the most efficient training strategy for every situation to excite, engage, and educate your employees. Please get in touch with us to see how we can assist you.