Every company out there that has a team of dedicated staff has to concentrate on employee development. It’s one of the most important aspects of having a team of staff to look after, as employee development is how you can retain your staff. The thing is, employee development is often something that is totally overlooked by companies, and this is because there are so many other parts of a business that need attention, it just falls by the wayside. Sometimes, management teams are so stretched that just getting through the day is a difficulty. The trouble with that is that employees need to feel like they have a future, so that they will stay.
Staff retention is a big problem, and when you aren’t caring for your staff properly they won’t stick around. Employee development is a big part of that process. You cannot afford to cut an employee development program from your budget, as your staff are going to be an important commodity for the continued success of your business. There are so many reasons you should make an effort to make your staff feel wanted and invest in their futures, and we’ve put together some of those reasons for you here:
Attraction. Every person who puts themselves forward for a job is taking a risk. Putting their resume on the map for your company to pick up on means that they are standing up and asking to be counted as a person interested in your business. You want to attract and keep the right people, and as staff retention is a huge challenge, you should be thinking ahead. People want to apply to roles with attractive offerings and this isn’t just about the salary they take home every month. It’s about the benefits on offer and the development of their role and character that is available. Employee development is a big part of those benefits, and it gives you a very competitive advantage in the job market. The employees that feel taken care of are those that will stay loyal to you going forward and let’s not forget, that the way an employee views you will reflect to others. If you offer continued training and education, you will be bringing in the best of the best. Your business will benefit from having people with ambition on the books, as they’ll want to have a future pushing their ambition toward your profit!
Future. The future of your employees needs to be something you concentrate on as a business. Training them so that they do their job effectively is always a risk for companies, as you don’t want to put the money in training someone if they’re only going to leave and take those skills elsewhere. You can learn a lot about managing staff with Exponential Programs and it’s important to remember how much you need your staff to stay and be promotable with your company. By investing time, money and effort into your staff, you can ensure they are promoted within your company. This is the idea of employee development programs; to mould them and let them lead up the ladder of your business. It also shows promise that you want them to succeed, which is a huge motivational factor for people.
Engagement. Bored employees are those that have wandering minds and start to look elsewhere for what they need from you. You should be keeping your staff motivated, engaged and willing to learn as much as possible about your company and what is on offer. You can easily lose employee loyalty, simply by ignoring the fundamental fact that they need to feel the fire to want to succeed. By offering training, employee development and workshops, you can keep that motivation going. Boredom leads to workplace sloppiness, damaged customer relationships and slack working, which just isn’t what you need as a company.
Cash. Investment is important for a business and not just for their own profitable gains. Investing in your employees will – in the long run – save you money. The person that you poured that time into, training them and moulding them to the efficiency you require for the company? They are the one who will work best for you in the long-term. As your staff becomes more proficient at their job, you will need to spend less time micro managing what they are doing, meaning you are spending your valuable time elsewhere. You also won’t be losing staff, meaning you can save the costs of hiring, interviewing and training someone completely new.
Planning. Every company that can and will invest in their people will have the ability to plan for the future. Employee development is something that will never stop within a company, as it’s too important to drop. This means you need to have an eye on the future ahead and what you want from your current employees. You need to decide what kind of leadership your company will need, what your customers need from you and your employees, and what changes could be ahead in your industry. The employees that you have are going to be an integral part of all of this, meaning you need to be vigilant about their training. The way they learn is going to help you focus on what future employees may need, too, meaning that you need to plan employee development as tailored to each individual. The training that you have implemented when your company began may not be relevant now, so you have to continuously update your training so that you aren’t doing outdated practices.
Your company will depend on the employees doing a good job to succeed, so investing your time and cash in the people you hire will be crucial. Being ahead of the curve of your business will make such a difference going forward, and your company can and will benefit from the money you put into employee development programs. If you don’t put that money in, you’ll fail, it’s that simple!
