Investing in employee development can be perceived as expensive but what some organizations may overlook is the real cost that can come from investing time to onboard an employee only to have them leave earlier than anticipated. Investing in employee training is one of the most important things that you can do as a small business owner or a manager to ensure that your employees are engaged and fulfilled in their roles.
Several studies have found that employee loyalty can be linked to having opportunities in professional development. Employee turnover is one of the largest capital and time sinks for small businesses, and employees who aren’t offered the opportunity to grow or shown that their employer is prepared to invest in their futures, are more likely to leave.
Here are more reasons to highlight why you should consider investing in employee development:
- Employees are more likely to become more engaged and productive in the workplace when they are exposed to different ideas, inspiration, and continuous improvement.
- Providing training to your employees improves the overall operational efficiency of your organization as your employees become better equipped with new knowledge and skills.
- Offering employee training attracts talent when you are seeking to hire new workers. If you are able to offer development opportunities and demonstrate that your organization cares to invest in the success of your employees, then you are more likely to attract good employees.
- Employee training helps in retaining current employees by providing challenges, growth opportunities and developing their skillset.
- Training your employees increases the effectiveness of knowledge transfer and the number of experienced employees that can take on more senior roles in your organization as they open.
- Employee training benefits your end customer and increases the value they receive by equipping your employees with the tools to deliver better service. Ultimately, this benefits your business and customer retention.
Whether you own a small business or work at a large organization, investing in your employees doesn’t have to be costly. Funding through government grants such as Canada-BC Job Grant, that you can read more about here. Additionally, you can develop your own internal training materials to review with your staff. At Propel Solutions, we have bi-weekly training sessions (alternating with bi-weekly team meetings) to review Lean tools and methodology as well as teach each other new concepts and share ideas.
If employee training is something that you have been meaning to introduce in to your workplace, Propel is happy to discuss the possibilities with you. Aiding organizations in developing a culture of continuous improvement and implementing training programs is something that Propel has helped multiple organizations accomplish.
