As the way we do business changes, more and more business owners are realising the benefits of empowering their workforce to remain relevant. Staff training makes better business sense than continually hiring new employees. Increasingly, employee development is key to organisational success.
Strong leadership is an essential aspect of any company, but many managers tend to feel unprepared for the job. To create a competitive advantage, companies need to ensure that their employees are capable of effectively and efficiently completing tasks. This is where staff training comes in. Here are my biggest benefits of employee training and development:
Employee retention
The hiring and retention of talent can be an ongoing challenge for employers. One way to retain your staff is by investing in their career development. Offering staff development opportunities establishes their sense of value in the company, fosters loyalty, and ultimately increases staff retention. Learning and development professionals worldwide have reported that they are observing a stronger appetite for upskilling than ever before.
Cultivating leadership
Acquiring leadership talent can start from the initial acquisition, or human resources practitioners can select current employees as managerial candidates. Having established leadership development programs ensures that the business is always considering future organisational goals and succession planning by preparing promotable talent.
Employee empowerment
Recent research shows that leaders who inspire the workforce, mobilise their staff with a compelling vision, are more impactful than management who simply focus on the bottom line. Empowered workers are more engaged and more likely to contribute to the disruptive innovations that set businesses apart in this volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world.
Increasing workplace engagement
Regular development initiatives can help keep employees motivated and frequent training programmes establish regular re-evaluation of employees, skills, and processes. Assessing the current skills and abilities within a team will enable managers to strategically plan targeted development programmes that consider any potential skills gaps.
Attract high-quality employees
Employee training and development is a sought-after benefit for many talented job seekers. Offering skills development opportunities immediately make your business more attractive to high-calibre prospects. Organisations that foster a learning culture create memorable experiences for their staff, that are often spoken about in their social circles.
Increase job satisfaction
When employees feel challenged and confident in their work, it increases engagement and productivity, which helps make your business run more efficiently. Job satisfaction does not need to be elusive in a VUCA world. It may optimise your sustainability. Satisfied workers are known to be more creative, adaptable, and flexible.
Increasing competitive advantage
Remaining relevant in the market depends on an inspired workforce who are skilled to respond to industry trends and innovations. This supports the business in reacting and adapting to change, establishing a competitive edge.
Increased Autonomy
Workers who are equipped to make autonomous decisions are empowered. They contribute to high-performing teams and solve problems. Autonomous employees do not create problems, but rather innovate new products. Inspired staff are more likely to maintain healthy workplace relationships and unsurpassed customer service.
Technological advancements
Digital literacy is a vital skill. Many activities have become automated using various technologies and systems. Empowering your employees with the knowledge to utilise these tools is essential. Aside from improving the collaboration between employees and technology, upskilling also mitigates the risk of job loss. After all, we’ll still need people to maintain and operate new machinery.
Employees in a company are like the white blood cells in our body. In the same way, we take supplements to improve the way our body reacts; we must equip our staff with the knowledge and tools to react and adapt to any changes in the business environment.
Investing in staff training is akin to immunising staff from poor performance and disengagement. Skills development offers a healthy boost to the all-important triple bottom line.
