There’s a lot of emphasis on “hiring the right person” when looking to expand the talent and skills of a workforce. And there’s merit to that strategy. However, your capacity to grow, improve, and finetune the skills of your employees isn’t limited to adding headcount.
Hiring smart, capable people is just the first step. Investing in the continuous development of your employees is what set excellent organizations apart from their competitors.
Here are 4 key benefits of investing in your employees’ development:
1. Employee development helps close the Skills Gap.
70% of employers say that finding candidates with the right skills is one of their biggest hiring challenges. The beauty of a robust employee development program means that you often don’t need to hire candidates who already possess the skills you’re looking for.
Instead, you hire people who have the capacity to learn on the job, and then you equip them with the skills your business requires. This investment pays off – upskilling and reskilling your employees allows you to tailor their abilities to your organization’s current and future plans.
The skills needed to stay successful are evolving faster than ever. Investing in employee development not only gives your employees the abilities they need to excel in their role today, but future-proofs your workforce for the challenges of tomorrow.
2. Your workforce becomes fine-tuned to the needs of your specific business.
Training and development opportunities give your employees the tools they need to do their job more effectively. And helping your employees reach their personal professional goals can ultimately help your organization meet their targets.
At the core of effective employee development is understanding. To fully understand your current workforce, Criteria created Talent Insights – a post-hire personality assessment that allows you to achieve strong team cohesion while also understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each employee at an individual level.
When you can align your training and development opportunities with your overall business objectives, you’ll see fruitful synergy that will boost your bottom line.
3. On-the-job training improves retention rates.
There’s a common fear that many employers have: if they spend the time, money, and effort to train their employees, they run the risk of that knowledge (and investment) walking out the door to a competitor.
But that fear is largely unfounded. Employees who are given a chance to learn and grow on the job are more likely to stay with their organization longer than employees who don’t. In fact, 94% of employees say that they’d stay at a company longer if the organization invested in their development.
It’s often that feeling of career stagnation that pushes capable people into looking for opportunities outside your organization. Research shows that a lack of growth opportunities contributes to 37% of turnover. Focusing on the training and education of your workforce directly drives improved retention.
When you invest in your employees, they become more invested in your organization. By investing in employee development, you can cultivate a culture of continuous improvement that encourages your employees to stay for the long term.
4. Investing in your workers improves employee engagement and satisfaction.
Giving your employees the ability to learn on the job will make them more productive. With this productivity comes increased workplace satisfaction. This satisfaction begets even greater productivity, and this positive feedback loop perpetuates itself.
People know when they are valued by others. The psychology behind “tit for tat” stands strong, even in the workplace. Reciprocity is a powerful social norm that you can lean into as an organization. After all, when someone does something positive for you, you are significantly more likely to do something positive for them in return.
If you apply this basic psychology to your training philosophy, you’ll see that an upfront investment in your employee’s development pays off: the resulting increase in employee engagement leads to a stronger bottom line for your business.
An investment that pays off
Spending time, money, and resources on employee development is a high-yield investment that doesn't take long to start paying you back. Your organization will see a bump in productivity, improved retention, and stronger business performance – all while boosting employee morale and future-proofing your organization. Employee development is an investment you can’t afford not to make.
