Employee Training and Development: The Benefits and Why it’s Important
25 August 2023
A corporation’s best asset is its employees, making investments in developing their skills and talent, an essential part of the business strategy. Impressive and effective employee training programs are vital to the success and sustainability of any organization. These programmes offer employers an opportunity to not only upgrade their employees’ skills, but also enhance their productivity, further adding value to the organization.
In fact, dedicated employee Training and Development offers some major perks - not only for employees but also for organizations. Before coming to the employee benefits training and development, let us delve into a bit more detail on Employee Learning and Development:
What is Employee Development and Training?
Often the words training, and development are used interchangeably, but there are critical differences between them that should influence the way leaders think about performance improvement. Training refers to teaching employees new skills to improve their on-job performance and work more efficiently. On the other hand, development refers to the improvement of existing skills. To sum up, training is specific to internal company goals and processes, while development extends outside of the company and includes communication, leadership, and project management skills.
Here are Some Reasons Why Employee Training and Development is Essential :
Retention of Positive and Motivated Employees
An employer who doesn't focus on learning will lose out on performance, engagement, and retention. According to LinkedIn's Workforce Learning Report, around 93% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their careers. Development is no longer an optional perk or a must for only for certain positions. As said by the famous US motivational speaker Zig Ziglar: "The only thing worse than training employees and losing them is not to train them and keep them. Helping employees build their careers shows respect for them. It shows that their work is appreciated and that the company is concerned about their professional growth.”
Increase Workplace Engagement
Boredom usually creates feelings of dissatisfaction and negative working habits. The remote working arrangement is quite different, especially for someone who has always been a regular 9 to 5 worker. To keep up their morale and boost their moods, employers can create virtual team activities like online multiplayer games, quizzes, role play to train employees and build stronger teams. These can prove effective in preventing potential burnout and isolation, thus ensuring that employees do their job at the best of their abilities.
Boosts Company Profile and Reputation
Employee training is not just good for employee motivation but also for organizational performance. Having a planned and thought-through training strategy helps develop the employer brand and makes the company a prime consideration for candidates. A company that trains its employees will be more attractive to potential employees, particularly those looking to enhance their skills.
Employee training and development is an everyday journey of learning, enhancing skills, and networking that puts employees on the course they most want to travel in their careers. It not only allows employees to perform better and prepares them for positions of greater responsibility but also helps employers attract top job candidates, retain the best workers, and identify future leaders.