If the answer is “No”, continue reading. I am absolutely certain that the below data will convince you to change your trajectory.
We all know that employees are a company’s backbone.
No matter how good systems and processes you have, how many bots will replace your Sales Reps, unless you have your people standing behind your vision, and idea, the chances are, that your road to success will be rocky, and you will be more often than not, fighting your battles alone. That is why the businesses put so much importance on the recruitment process – they want to make sure we hire the most qualified staff. Often, though, companies omit to put the exact same emphasis on the development and education of their employees after they are hired and successfully onboarded.
What do we mean by training and development?
In short – anything that will help your employees to address their weaknesses, and harness their strengths. More importantly, when we speak about the training, we always talk about topics that are relevant to your business, and that will benefit your operations long-term. Take soft skills for instance. You might have technically brilliant employees, but if they are not capable to sell the excellence of their products to your clients, chances are that your business will suffer, no matter how great is what they developed. Or another situation – you implement the new software that you hope will help your company grow, but due to the poor training, you end up with a bunch of confused employees who have very little clue as to how to use this new thing, and worse – your daily operations suffer as such by the lack of their knowledge.
That was something we came across in DEV PACK some years ago. When we were helping our clients with the implementation of the products, we were often asked by confused employees about the basic features of it. We realized that it required more than a simple manual for people to fully grasp what they had in their hands, and be able to utilize the benefits of the new software/product. That’s how the idea of providing workshops and training was born. Soon, our clients requested various other types of training and workshops (Leadership skills, Soft-skills training, etc.,), and we were extending our portfolio of training on the go – as the demand grew.
There are numerous studies conducted that prove that organizations that are investing in their employees’ development have increased sales, and doubled profits compared to organizations that are not committed to their employees’ growth.
Dedicated training and development promote employee engagement and boost productivity. An efficient workforce is crucial to your company’s financial goals. Furthermore, 93% of employees will stay with you when they feel that you investing in their career and personal development. Training and development help companies gain and retain top talent, increase job satisfaction and morale, improve productivity and earn more profit. Additionally, businesses that have actively interested and dedicated employees see 41 percent lower absenteeism rates and 17 percent higher productivity.
Who Should be Interested in Training and Development?
Everything starts at the top of any company’s hierarchy. By that, I don’t mean that only the C-level executives should attend self-development training and workshops. It is rather the opposite – ALL people in the company should have the option. But what I mean when I say it starts at the top is that unless the executive management actively supports and promotes the education of their employees, the idea has poor chances to succeed. But nowadays is, thankfully, normal, that progressive companies see the importance of the development of their employees, and HR leaders are asked to help frame strategic planning, which almost exclusively involves robust employee training and development initiatives. And good HR leaders are looking at their teams as living organisms, assessing the individual members, and trying to suggest the training programs suitable to their particular needs.
What are the Benefits of Training and Development?
1. Employees’ retention
We all know that it’s 6 times more expensive to hire and train a new employee than to keep the old one. Retention, in general, is a major challenge for employers but you have a high chance to retain your workers if you provide them with the opportunity for career development. In fact, training and development have become so important within businesses that it is often used as a competitive advantage when hiring. Offering career development initiatives help employees establish a sense of value within the company and fosters loyalty, ultimately resulting in increased staff retention and a 59% lower staff turnover rate.
2. Development of future leaders
Targeting your employees’ potential and developing them as future leaders is vital in establishing a business for growth and expansion. If you want your company to be strong, you have to have strong people. If a company is focused on promoting its leadership programs, it can achieve its future business goals by preparing promotable talent, and in some way – a succession plan. More than that, by developing future leaders, you will have more independent people who are willing to make autonomous decisions and feel empowered for doing so. Who doesn’t want that?
3. Addressing your employees’ weaknesses
Did you hire someone who is great with coding, but absolutely lacks presentation skills? Not a problem, help them to overcome what they are lacking. As said before, nobody is good at everything, and more often than not, you have in your team people who would do well if someone helps them to overcome their weaknesses. Not only because it will boost their productivity and morale, but also because it will increase their loyalty toward you, and in times when it’s so difficult to find high-quality people, we don’t want good ones to leave us only because we were greedy on providing them the means for their development.
4. Boosting loyalty
People remember how you treat them in good times and stick with you throughout the bad times. Investment in your employees’ education never goes in vain, for when people feel that you care for them – they care for you back. There are always good times and bad times in business – even if you’re super successful, chances are that you will come across some roadblocks. When this happens, you need your people back you up, and more importantly – stick with you, stay with you, and help you. You don’t want your employees to jump off the running train only because someone offers them a few hundred more. And that, sadly, is often the case if you don’t invest in your employees first.
5. Building great teams
Finally, providing opportunities for employees to explore new topics, refine their skills, and expand their knowledge can help your team members bond with each other, and create a great team. They can learn how to lean on one another, and they can learn how to collaborate effectively with colleagues who have specific areas of expertise they might be lacking. Learning from each other’s strengths not only leads to a more well-rounded workforce, but those relationships can also improve retention and general productivity.
In DEV PACK, we are aware of the importance of continuous training and education of the employees. Besides various types of Training and Workshops (have a look here), we provide to our clients, we also pay attention to educating and development of our own people too. And if what you’re looking for, is not in our portfolio, get in touch either way! We love new challenges and will develop the training program specifically for your needs.
Authors: Monika Kinlovicova & Iva Gracova
