Monetary remuneration has ceased to be the only important consideration for employees while choosing a job today. The reason behind such a shift is the importance placed on learning and development for overall career advancement. Employees seek to take job roles that are in sync with their career aspirations and offer a chance of development through learning outcomes.
Companies have reported that their employee retention increased dramatically upon incorporating holistic learning programmes in their work pedagogy. It’s no secret that employee retention is one of the core responsibilities and objectives of HR professionals.
Retention, therefore, has become a function of active training programmes that add value to the employees in addition to teaching relevant job skills.
What really is Learning and Development?
Learning and development is a continuous process of taking necessary steps in terms of training to help employees learn relevant skills for their current job role and help them align with their goals and performance with those of the organisation. The basic requirement for designing the most appropriate training programmes is identifying the skill gaps amongst employees.
Companies can invest in eLearning software such as Docebo. Docebo pricing is reasonable and equips companies with the right tools for creating, implementing, and tracking employee training.
Why do Learning and Development hold value for a business?
Let’s take a look at a few unavoidable reasons why L&D is so significant for businesses in 2021:
- There’s a demand for learning opportunities from the employees
As the working population within the companies is increasing and filling in more millennials, the demand for learning opportunities is skyrocketing. Millennials are increasingly concerned about the learning and development opportunities at a company when they apply for a job.
The incoming employees want a work environment and culture that fosters career development through advanced skill training and industry-appropriate learning. Career growth is the top priority of millennials and as mentioned above, features right next to the salary aspect of their jobs.
- Employee Retention is cheaper than Hiring
Employee turnover is a costly affair for companies because of the monetary losses incurred as well as the loss of productive employees. Many surveys have concluded that more than 50% of employee turnover is preventable.
The collective costs of separation, new recruitment, and the reduction in productivity are higher than investing in retaining existing employees. Learning and development are one of the core ways through which companies can ensure retention.
- Employee Training increases Productivity and Profits
When employee training is focused on identifying and filling the skills and knowledge gaps while focusing on individual employee strengths, the profit margins of a company increase considerably.
The said rise in profits is a direct result of upskilling employees, which in turn is known to increase productivity. Productive employees do justice to their job roles, and the margin of error decreases.
- Training reduces several risks in workplace safety
Workplace safety and compliance training are necessary because risk mitigation in the workplace is the responsibility of the employer. The idea is to maintain an inclusive and safe workplace by training employees in proper workplace behavior.
Designing and implementing an effective training program in workplace ethics also helps in minimizing the risk of lawsuits originating from the failure of adhering to proper workplace behavior and industry standards.
- Customer Service and Satisfaction are vastly improved
When the employees are well trained in handling customers and solving their problems, customer satisfaction improves and the company enjoys good word of mouth. Trained employees possess the relevant knowledge and skills to have fruitful conversations with customers and expertly handle their queries.
Conclusion
There’s an inherent value attached to effective training and development of employees, and this article discusses some of the most vital reasons for the same. It’s in the best interest of companies that they invest their time and money into the training and development of their employees and reap multiple benefits.
