It’s evident that employees are the backbone of a company, motivated employees are productive and creative and directly impact company growth. The process of cultivating employees stops after we go through a lengthy and mostly tedious recruiting process. We often observe few months after recruitment, new hires are swamped into the company’s culture and their fresh ideas are buried with the majority of the existing company workflows and level of creativeness. New hires are fresh blood, they often present new ideas to the table, how much of these are we harnessing?

Why it’s important to train and develop our employees?

Employers need to realize how common it is for employees to leave if they don’t receive the necessary training to do well in their positions. Research shows that a full 40% of employees who don’t receive the necessary job training to become effective will leave their positions within the first year. 

If you could change just one thing about your company that would increase employee productivity by over 100%, would you do it? Yes, of course, you would! But you’re probably thinking that such a change would be infeasible or incredibly complicated and highly priced. We would like you to think again.

Profits and Productivity: Two Reasons to Take Notice

According to the Association for Talent Development (ATD), companies that offer comprehensive training programs have 218% higher income per employee than companies without formalized training. But it doesn’t stop there. These companies also enjoy a 24% higher profit margin than those who spend less on training. It would seem that continuing to invest in training and development, even when there are economic downturns, is the smart play. 

At the root of these fantastic results is increased employee productivity, which in turn is driven by the skills advancements made possible through employee training and development. As it turns out, training is one of the most effective things that a company can do to increase productivity. For example, increases in workforce education level are far more effective at increasing productivity than increases in the value of the equipment (a 10% increase in both produced a productivity gain of 8.6% for education vs. a mere 3.4% increase for upgraded equipment). 

The benefits of training and development in the workplace

1) Positive employee retention

Hiring and retention can become a major challenge to employers, however, this can be avoided through career development. Offering programs within employment contracts establish an employee’s sense of value within the company, and fosters loyalty and ultimately staff retention.

2) Training future leaders

Targeting skills and employees for future leadership will help establish a business for growth and change. Acquiring leadership talent can start from the initial acquisition, or Human Resource professionals can select current employees as managerial candidates. Having established leadership development programs ensures that an organization is always considering future organizational goals by preparing promotable talent.

3) Employee empowerment

Leaders who feel empowered within the workplace will be more effective at influencing employees and gaining their trust. Consequently, those employees will feel a greater sense of autonomy, value, and confidence in their work.

4) Increase workplace engagement

Boredom in the workplace can create feelings of dissatisfaction and negative working habits. Regular development initiatives can prevent workplace idleness. Having frequent training programs will also establish regular re-evaluation – of employees, skills, and processes. Training and development will also influence company culture by instilling an emphasis on planning.

Take Away:

Grow your business by growing and developing your employees. Let’s start considering Training and Development as a Necessity.