Is it worth investing in training and developing employees?

Landing a job fresh
out of university doesn’t spell the end of learning. On the job learning has
always been a fact of working life, but in an age of technology, knowledge-based
industries and an ever-expanding list of job titles, the need for continued
training in the workplace has never been greater.

The question is, who
is responsible for such training? Is it the responsibility of research is showing that skills gained through personal training are increasingly valuable in the workplace today.

Aon Hewitt
found that employee training and development can make a workplace more
appealing

94% of
Means for

Employee job
satisfaction

Job
satisfaction and an overall sense of fulfillment is achieved when training is
provided to employees. According to research by Heartland Monitor Poll this is
especially important for the millennial generation.

Increased productivity

Job
satisfaction can lead to happy employees which in turn can increase
productivity by 10 % according to research from the University of Warwick.

Employees who
are equipped with the right skills to perform their job effectively can produce
better results.

What is the role of an
employer?

Is it the
responsibility of an employer to invest in personal and professional training
for their employees? Based on the research, if you want to retain the best
employees – yes. If you want happy and engaged employees – yes. If you want to
increase productivity and improve your bottom line – yes!

It can be all too easy
for employers to relegate the responsibility of personal training on the
employee and provide professional training on a mechanical basis. In other
words, employees know how to use a software program, or how a new product
works, but fail to understand the bigger picture of how and why.

If employers want to
create a thriving workplace then they have a responsibility to not only provide
personal and professional training, but ensure it is effective.

How?

Delivering the right
training, finding time and training costs are among the biggest challenges
faced by employers when it comes to providing personal and professional
training.

Employers need to
provide the right training. This means the right content, right format and
learning mode. In our time poor society, finding the time for personal and
professional training will be a challenge. Employers will need to be creative
in order to prioritize training and avoid conflict with work tasks. Personal
and professional training programs range in price from zero cost to thousands
of dollars. Employers should consider the cost-benefit of any training program.

Measuring the
effectiveness of personal and professional training initiatives is essential to
determine how and where you should invest. This means measuring satisfaction
and engagement, perhaps through anonymous surveys, monitoring attrition rates
and evaluating changes in productivity as a result of training programs.