Top Five Reasons You Should Invest in Employee Training

Today’s labour market is constantly changing. Gone are the days when employees would spend most of their lives working at the same company. The new generation of workers have many different jobs throughout the course of their careers, and businesses are struggling to find talented employees who are willing to stick around for the long run. 

Today’s workers are fueled by continuously improving their skills and accumulating knowledge. Professional growth is a major factor that contributes to an employee’s loyalty to a company, and investing in targeted training programs will increase employee motivation and overall satisfaction.  

If you want to keep your employees long-term, you need to offer them an incentive to stay. If you’re not willing to invest in their growth, they will most likely look for employment elsewhere.  

Read on to find out why investing in employee training will help your business outperform the competition and stay ahead of the game. 

Specialized training keeps employees up to date on new technologies and optimal business processes. It encourages autonomous action and reduces the need for control and constant guidance. This directly impacts the efficiency of your employees because the more training they receive, the more they will understand the industry and the requirements of their jobs, resulting in increased work performance. 

Studies have found a correlation between employee training and customer satisfaction. The more training you offer your employees, the better equipped they will be to deal with customer requests and questions. More knowledgeable employees can support customers more effectively, leading to improved quality of service. 

In today’s labour market, many employees see training opportunities as a major reason to join or stay at a company. When employees feel like their individual development is important to their employers, it increases their loyalty and their level of commitment, which results in fewer layoffs and turnover. Some research even suggests that training opportunities can increase employee retention by up to 70%.  

Offering your employees training sessions not only benefits the trained personnel, but the workforce as a whole. Skills and expertise are exchanged among colleagues and quickly spread throughout the company. Knowledge transfer between employees is a great way to help your business grow and keep all employees in the loop regarding industry standards and new trends. 

As an employer, it is your job to ensure your employees are working in a safe environment, and employee training plays a major role in risk management. Safety and health training reduce work-related injuries and illnesses, and sexual harassment and diversity training can greatly improve employee collaboration. 

If you’re willing to commit to employee training, here are some things to keep in mind: 

• Your allocated training budget for each employee 
• Whether or not employees need special leave for in-person training sessions 
• Whether or not some trainings can be completed online vs. in-class 
• What the ROI is for each training