How investing in your employees can pay off for your business.
Throughout my career as an educator and trainer I heard many excuses as to why a company did not want to invest in training or professional development for their employees. The most common of those excuses were “What if we train them and they leave”? or “What is the ROI when we invest in training”? And, finally another common objection relates to the notion that “If we train them, will they expect a raise or a promotion due to their new skill set?”
All of these objections are valid. Management are afraid that if they invest in their employees those same employees will take those new skills to get a better job with the competition. Companies are also reluctant to invest in training and professional development for their employees because it can be difficult to see the financial return on that investment. It is almost impossible, for instance, to come up with a dollar amount that reflects the impact of a leadership program or team building activities. What many businesses fail to realize, however, is that the cost of not training their employees is very high.
More than Dollars and Cents
The benefits of investing in training and development for employees are far and wide and go well beyond dollars and cents. When I was an employee working for someone else I was always eager to develop my skills. I took advantage of every development opportunity available to me that was offered for free such as webinars or networking events. Every six months during my performance review I would also ask for training that I felt was beneficial to my position. I was repeatedly denied.
While many companies argue that if they invest in their employees those same employees will eventually leave I can argue that not investing in your employees leads to disengagement and departure for a position that will include regular development or advancement opportunities. If companies expect loyalty from their employees they have to be willing to demonstrate loyalty as well. When an employee is investing in a company through their time, skills, and talent that employee wants more than just a paycheck as a return on their investment. They want to know that their hard work is noticed and will be rewarded through development opportunities that will help them build their career.
Employee Engagement has a huge impact on the bottom line. When companies do not invest in their employees they can become disengaged and start to question why they are working so hard. Showing your employees that you believe in them with regular training and development is a highly effective form of motivation.
Productivity
Another reason for investing in training and development for employees is the impact that training can have on productivity, which in turn always impacts the bottom line. Take Digital Literacy training for example; most employees use computers on a daily basis but many of those employees are losing time because they are not using programs effectively. Every single employee uses some kind of email software but has no idea about the many shortcuts that are available that can save them time. Making a small investment in hiring an expert to train employees can save a company a lot of money and actually improve the bottom line by improving productivity.
Build your Companies Reputation as a Career-maker
I already shared my own story about how my requests for training were repeatedly denied by my manager. One year into that position I had colleagues from other divisions come to me and tell me that if I wanted my career to go anywhere I had to leave that division. Simply put, my division was known as a career-breaker. Another division within the same company for which I worked had a reputation for being just the opposite, a career-maker. Anyone who went to work in that division received the development they needed and was promoted within two to three years. Employees were lining up to work in that division.
Your employees can be your most effective ambassadors. Finding top talent for your team is not easy and you have to give people a reason to want to work for you. Building your reputation as the place to work requires investing in the employees you have now so they will go out and sing your praises.
If you want to learn more about how training can improve engagement, productivity, and your bottom line contact Corina for a free 30 minute discovery call.
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