Employee development is fundamental to organisational growth. Employees are your greatest assets and to instil in them a sense of attachment and loyalty; you need to invest in their career development. Employees go far and beyond to meet organisational goals, they need to be appreciated by empowering them with skills beneficial for their current and future assignments as well as for their personal development. Considering the business landscape which is becoming increasingly competitive, employees need to be in tune with the latest developments in order to apply new skills and techniques in their work. If employees are able to apply new tactics in their work, they will be able to fully engage with your organisation, thereby driving required growth.

The benefits of training and development in a workplace

The major benefit of investing in your employees’ development is to create a competitive and efficient workforce to meet the demands of the fast-evolving market. Having a team that is well equipped with relevant industry skills is important for attracting and retaining top talent which is useful for surviving the fierce market competition.

Let us look at some of the reasons why employee training and development is important.

Increased Workplace Engagement

Regular employee development and training programmes can create positive working habits in your organisation. Lack of innovation and new skills causes boredom and idleness in a workplace because employees execute tasks the same way for a long period of time. This, in turn, causes dissatisfaction and consequently leads to undesired work practices. Regular training activities can cultivate an efficient work culture where your employees are motivated to apply the new skills that they acquire in their work. Training is also beneficial in evaluating your employees’ skills gap and this helps your organisation to develop an effective training plan.

Apart from helping you evaluate your employees’ skills, training and development help in employee self-assessment. Employees are able to establish areas they need to improve in if they are to deliver better results

Employee Retention

Employee retention is a challenge among many employers. Regularly hiring employees can be costly and time-consuming. Having an employee development plan can help in addressing this challenge. Putting in place a solid employee development plan can help you in building a stream of loyal and productive employees. When employees are appreciated through career development, they feel valued and are most likely to stay in your organisation for a long time.

Make it a must to provide employee training and development programmes as part of your hiring package in order to attract the right employees who will be instrumental in meeting your targets.

To make the training experience even more valuable, personalise the learning experience for your employees. When it comes to learning and development, treat your employees like your customers. You need to analyse their specific skills, roles, interests and their approaches to learning in order to deliver learning that will be useful and appreciated.

Considering the diverse nature of a workplace, you need to create a plan for employees in the same or relevant category which will be different from another set of employees. A personalised training plan provides relevant content and value to your employees and matches them with their individual learning goals.

Enhanced Productivity

As the popular saying goes: ‘If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your business’

A motivated and well-equipped workforce is a driving force in meeting business goals. It might seem costly or unnecessary to invest in your employees’ career development but it is beneficial in the long run. An employee is more likely to be productive when they understand what is required from them and are equipped to perform their tasks. Offering career growth opportunities enhances employees’ skill sets which they can use to enrich your business.

As employees become more confident and efficient in their work, they have the potential to increase productivity and meet the required expectations.

Preparing for the Future

Changing times demand new ways of operation. Your business culture might change within a short period of time to cater for the changing customer and industry needs. Your employees cannot apply the same skills and techniques when such an unexpected shift happens. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced organisations to embrace digital ways of work if they are to remain operational and productive. This has called for an immediate shift in the way businesses are run, therefore necessitating the need for employees to acquire specific skill sets.

As you are creating an employee development plan, take into consideration that you are planning for the future path of your business. It is therefore essential for your organisation to prioritise certain capacity building training like the use of digital tools to lessen the time spent on adjusting in case of such unforeseen circumstances.

While there are other ways to boost productivity in the workplace, you need to realise the critical role of employee development in propelling the highest levels of productivity. With the benefits that employee training and development brings, you cannot afford to cut employee development from your budget.

Would you like to equip your team with relevant industry skills that will achieve business growth? Contact us now!