Building a better staff

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/08/2022 (1185 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Summer is slowly but surely moving on and before we know it, workplaces will become a hive of activity as employees return from their vacations.

And since the pandemic has proven that employees are the lifeblood of organizations, managers will begin turning their attention to issues such as employee development. In fact, employee development has been proven as a key strategy for retaining employees. That’s because employee development is essentially a long-term strategy to improve existing employee skills and help them to continue learning, growing and developing as new skill requirements for the organization evolve.

Organizations that have strong employee development programs typically have employees that are energized by opportunity and who support the organization’s vision and goals. These employees will stay with an organization as long as they can continue to grow and achieve job and career satisfaction. However, employee development is more than simply offering a roster of training programs. It is also a leadership development strategy and essentially, an overall investment in people. So, what exactly are the benefits of an employee development strategy?

● Employee retention: Such strategies are essentially a cost-saving measure because losing just one individual even at the front-line level can cost an organization up to three times the value of the employee’s salary. It is well known that employees who become engaged in professional development will typically stay with their employer until no further career opportunities are available. Even then, if they do leave, they can act as “alumni” and refer others to the organization, specifically for the developmental opportunities provided to employees.

● Candidate attraction: Today’s candidate market is very competitive. Individuals are looking beyond simply getting a job, and examining all of the benefits of working for a certain employer. Therefore, professional development has become a recruitment tool. Organizations that offer professional development are of interest to candidates who want to learn, grow and have the ability to earn a better income. Investing in employee training helps to create a culture of learning that in turn helps to create a sense of energy within an organization. Candidates want to work in an organization that has a strong vision supported by strategies to help them with their career.

● Performance improvement: Helping employees to continually improve their skills also helps to improve individual performance. For instance, in one study by CSO Insights, an investment of $500 yielded a 46.2 per cent improvement in sales wins for the subject sales manager. Overall, studies also show that organizations with comprehensive employee development programs typically have a 24 per cent higher profit margin and higher income per employee.

● Staying competitive: Organizations need employees who are creative, innovative and flexible and who can tackle change head on. As the business environment changes and organizations fight to continue thriving, employees will encounter new situations where they will need to develop unique solutions that could become part of organizational practice. Employee development will assist in helping individuals develop creative problem-solving and change-management strategies that will enable them to innovate when needed.

● Relationship building: Employees who participate in the various professional development activities will encounter other employees from other departments and will develop friendships and relationships that bring value to both individuals and the organization. This includes sharing of knowledge and techniques and being available to help each other. Strong work relationships between employees are also another factor that contributes to retention.

● Employee loyalty: Organizations that invest in their employees are also investing in loyalty. Employees who are offered professional development and job enrichment opportunities feel appreciated and valued. In addition, by engaging with others in similar training, employees develop friendships and a feeling of belonging. This all leads to a sense of employee loyalty which in turn will help to ensure long-term retention.

● Growing leaders: Management needs to focus on succession planning at all levels of the organization. Professional development creates the opportunity to assess individuals for leadership and to apply specific leadership training to grow the key skills that will be needed. This includes higher level problem-solving, managing the various human resource policies and procedures, project and strategic planning, and understanding higher levels of financial management.

● Personal growth: Professional development programming also typically offers opportunities for individuals to undertake a self-assessment of their skills and career goals. Personality assessments in the various programs help individuals to better understand themselves as related to teamwork, problem-solving, dealing with conflict and coping with change. Once they understand their learning style, strengths and areas of challenge, they can work with management to strategize further training as well as career opportunities.

● Overcoming skills shortages: Whereas there is now such a shortage of skilled workers, a new trend for many organizations is to use employee development as a tool to train up their own entry-level workers. They can’t wait for college or university graduates. This allows an organization to offer specialized technical training focused on key front-line jobs. Once in place, an individual can continue to take part in other training programs that would round out the other soft skills required for long-term success.

Employee development is a strategy with benefits for both employees and employers. However, it also needs to be a well-planned, long-term effort that is fully supported by management, fits into the long-term strategic plan and is allocated sufficient financial resources to sustain it over the long term. The strategy also needs to include a variety of alternative methods to reach the goal, such as implementing employee coaching and mentoring, creating stretch assignments, offering cross training to build new sets of skills, job rotation and job shadowing. It also needs to build in strategies for assessing individuals and assisting them to pursue their career goals.

Professional and employee development programs typically include a variety of in-house programs, external training offered by specialists, and financial and time support to attend a university program. As well today, there are multiple, excellent online training programs that can be used in-house to train employees. In addition, management needs to develop specific training and development policies and procedures so employees will know how to access training, what training is available to them, and when and where they can go to receive career guidance and plan their future with the organization.

Loyal, well-trained employees are the lifeblood of successful organizations and employee development is the tool needed to develop and retain this valuable resource. Plan carefully, and plan for the long term.

Source: What Is Employee Development, Its Benefits and Importance? Valamis Knowledge Hub, March 10, 2022; 6 Reasons Why Employee Development Is Key, Built-In, July 6, 2022.

Barbara J. Bowes, FCPHR, B.Ed, M.Ed, CCP is a human resource professional, author, radio personality, speaker, executive coach and workshop leader. She can be reached at barb@bowesleadership.com.