Why you need to invest in your employees
For many organisations, learning and development (L&D) can easily fall down the to-do list. With client demands, new business pitches, and employee concerns to deal with, many managers may not even consider the impact of an L&D strategy on their organisation. Add in dwindling budgets and offering employee training can seem like a distant pipedream. However, providing L&D to employees can be a worthwhile investment.
LinkedIn’s 2018 Workforce Learning Report found that 93% of employees surveyed said they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their careers. Alongside this, a clear commitment to training will help employers create a strong pool of internal talent that can be tapped into whenever the need arises, helping to future-proof the business.
Tips for organisations on investing in their people:
Create a purpose and communicate it
While managers should be creating development plans with employees to mould them into high performers, they should also be mindful of the ultimate goals and purpose of the organisation’s L&D strategy. Will this training lead to new business opportunities? Or should it be focused on helping reduce staff turnover and creating more stability within the organisation?
This purpose, and the training on offer, should be clearly communicated to the entire team. If employees get the ‘why’ behind the training on offer, they will be more likely to take part, as well as feel more engaged and motivated in their role and in the company.
Be open to non-traditional methods of training
With the internet at our fingertips, organisations can move away from old school training sessions and encourage employees to pursue non-traditional methods that can aid their growth goals. These can range from an online self-learning course to watching a TED Talk. Incorporating such methods can be a great way for employees to find the training that is most effective for them; maybe they can’t schedule a morning away at a conference, but a weekly podcast that they can listen to during their morning commute might suit them.
Make sure to measure the ROI
Despite investing in their employees, there is an astonishing number of businesses who don’t measure the resulting behaviour change. If a manager sets a goal at the start of the L&D process, they should be measuring the results and improvement after the training has taken place.
For this, managers should establish clear metrics to keep track. Some, like having more impact in presentations, can be easy to measure. This measurement can include feedback from the manager, the employee as well as feedback from the audience if appropriate. By understanding the real value of the training and what impact it is having on results can also help organisations make more considered decisions around which training providers they use and what they spend their budget on.
Learning and development can become a key strategy for organisations looking to motivate current employees, attract new ones, and to prepare for the future challenges that come their way.
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“93% of employees surveyed said they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their careers”