Employee Learning & Development: How You Can Invest in the Success of Your Company
Finding a balance between spending money and resources on employee development, while also not abusing company spending is a tricky task for some people; however, investing in employee development and engagement promotes more success and profit in companies.
It is important to note the cost of disengaged employees in the company, the value that comes from investing in employee engagement and development, and how you can integrate learning programs within your company.
Is not investing in employee training and development actually saving you money in the long run?
Understanding the effects of disengaged employees is critical to initiating a change in employee development. In a study from Deloitte, they say that 63% of millennials claim that they are not receiving training in support of their leadership skills. Additionally, in this same study, 28% of millennials feel that their current employers are not making ‘full use’ of their skillsets. These astounding numbers, high rates displaying lack of development and low rates of employees being allowed to use their full skillset, are reflected by the employees decreased loyalty to their company. Additionally, a lack of ethics in a company can decrease employee loyalty and talent attraction. 56% of millennials claimed that they have ruled out employers that do not share the same values as they do. A lack of corporate social responsibility is becoming a deal breaker for many of those in the workforce.
So, is employee training worth the financial investment?
In short, yes! Providing comprehensive training for employees increases retention rates, morale, and revenue. If a lack of corporate social responsibility can be a deal breaker for employee loyalty, then retention rates for those companies are going to suffer. Now, for those companies lacking corporate social responsibility campaigns, ethics and employee retention may not be at the top of their priorities; however, it should be. Employee retention has a direct impact on the success and revenue of the company. The average cost of an employee leaving a company is 33% of the employers annual salary. So, not only can a lack of employee development result in lower retention rates, it can also directly impact the employers wallet.
Investing more in employee training looks different for each company based on company size, budget, and many other factors; however, the numbers provided by The American Society for Training and Development provide clear evidence as to the benefit of investing in employee learning and development:
Companies investing $1,500+ on training for each employee experienced 24% higher profit margins than those companies investing very little in employee development.
Companies offering comprehensive employee training have seen a 218% increase in income per employee.
Those companies that invested $680 more on employee training and development saw a 6% higher return for shareholders.
How do I integrate employee development and training programs?
Elucidat claims that there are four key steps to developing a comprehensive training program.
Set the goals for the program—the goal is to create more engaged employees in your company. define what you want your training to focus on.
Build an employee training program—this needs to be done keeping specific outcomes in mind. The specific outcome is to increase teamwork within the marketing team, so they will be able to communicate more effectively with one another and their content will become more cohesive.
Develop content for the employee development training—using what you know about creating content, you will need to develop compelling content for your employees to follow that will enhance their learning.
Track and improve your program- this can be done in a number of ways, one of which is through utilizing Swoovy’s Volunteerism Platform. Track volunteerism hours for an employee volunteer program and how they have impacted the marketing teams ability to create traction through cohesive teamwork.
Want to discuss more information on the costs of disengaged employees, the benefits of employee training, and how to integrate learning and development programs within your company? Book a chat with our team, we’d love to talk through how to prepare you for success.