5 Reasons Why Companies Should Invest In Employee Education
Chris Shenton MSc
30th July 2020
There are few things more important in your business than your employees. These are the people that connect with your customers, facilitate sales, and keep your organization running smoothly. So, it's only logical that you should give them the skills and knowledge to succeed. And yet, for some reason, there are still many companies failing to invest in employee education.
Updated 23rd September 2023
The stats don't lie. Your employees want learning and development. And they'll leave for greener pastures in order to get them. According to the 2022 LinkedIn Global Talent Trends Report, employees rated professional development the number one way of improving workplace culture.
And, according to another report, 86% of employees agreed they'd jump ship for a new employer if they provided more personal development opportunities.
But it shouldn't only be about avoiding the negatives. Investing in proper training and education for your team on a regular basis is how you set the stage for more dedicated, engaged, and productive employees.
Here are five ways the decision to invest in employee education can benefit your business.
Invest in employee education to boost productivity
When you hire your employees, you choose the people with the best skills for the job. However, as the world and your industry evolve, it's easy for skills to become a little outdated.
Regular training is how you keep your team members on the cutting edge. Teaching them new practices and methodologies makes them more effective at what they do. And proper, ongoing feedback is essential for making these lessions stick.
According to an ATD study, companies which offer comprehensive employee training programmes have an incredible 218% higher profitability than companies with no formal job training. Trained employees are better able to think innovatively, make informed decisions, and perform tasks more efficiently.
You can even teach your employees how to engage in things like employee advocacy, to help bring more sales opportunities to your company. Or you could use training to turn senior employees into mentors so that supervisors don't need to spend as much time answering staff questions.
It Builds Trust and Respect
Offering training and learning opportunities for your employees is one of the easiest ways to earn the trust of your team. People like to see that their bosses are willing to invest in employee education to help progress their employees' careers.
On the other hand, failing to educate your team members shows that you're not interested in helping them to achieve their goals.
A pre-pandemic survey found that 56% of UK employees would leave their current job if it stopped providing training. 31% reported having done so in the past. And, considering we've established that over 80% would now leave simply for better opportunities, that figure is probably even higher now.
If a team member doesn't think that they have a future with your business, they won't stick around when new opportunities present themselves elsewhere. Access to training and growth options reassures your people that they aren't at a professional dead end.
And the more you enable employee development, the more your people will respect and value the organisation. Showing your employees that you have their best interests in mind with regular training reduces turnover and strengthens your company culture.
This leads to better bonds between all of the people in your team. Among supervisors and lower-level staff alike.
It Increases Employee Satisfaction
Aside from causing employees to lose faith in your business, a lack of training can make people feel frustrated with their jobs.
If your employees don't think that you want to help them excel, they won't feel happy in their positions. At the same time, poorly trained employees are more likely to struggle with complex tasks. And that's because they don't have the right skills or knowledge to succeed.
Problems like disengagement and low employee satisfaction lead companies to lose around $500 billion in potential profits every year.
Your employees can't deliver their best work if they don't have the right training. They also won't want to go above and beyond for your team. And why should they, if you won't go the extra mile for them?
Disengaged team members tend to do the bare minimum because they're not deeply committed to your company. Or to helping your business achieve its goals. On the other hand, regular training leads to less stress. It even reduces boredom by breaking up the tedium of regular work, and letting employees try new things.
It Reduces the Risk of Human Error
Any employee can make a mistake. Even your most knowledgeable team members. However, without regular training, you're increasing the chances of human error. And this can lead to significant problems in your team. That's why it's vital to invest in employee education.
This ensures that you can teach your teams everything they need to know about things important for their industry. And, for an increasing number of businesses, that means things like data security and breach prevention.
One tiny mistake from a remote employee logging into a public network, or a staff member clicking on a link could bring your entire business tumbling down. Or, at least, cost a pretty penny in fines and sanctions.
And that's not even getting into the physical dangers of poor job training. Like bad food hygiene, or workplace safety hazards.
Unfortunately, it's not likely that you can eliminate every single mistake you or your employees might make. But, when something does go wrong, it's often essential to act quickly. Therefore, it's important to educate your employees about what to do should something go wrong for whatever reason. So they can make those decisions themselves without needing to wait for help.
Invest in employee education to build better career paths
We've already mentioned that excellent employee training and education are excellent ways to attract new talent to your team.
However, it can also mean that your existing employees have more opportunities for vertical growth. Rather than having to hire a new employee every time a high-level position opens in your team, you can train your existing staff to fill the gap.
Training future leaders with regular professional education options reduces your hiring costs. It shows every team member that they have a future in your business.
This could make it less likely that your top staff members end up leaving your team to find better positions elsewhere.
You could even consider setting up a program where your existing employees can shadow the leaders they would like to work with in the future. Or you could use things like mentorship programs to improve business bonding.
When You Invest in Your Team, You Invest in Your Business
Some business leaders make the mistake of avoiding employee training because they think it's too expensive, or that it will prompt their employees to look for better jobs.
However, the truth is that investing in your team is one of the best ways to set yourself up for success. Offering training to your team members ensures that they can use the best skills to make your organization succeed.
Simultaneously, with regular training, you improve your team's engagement levels and strengthen your chances of attracting future talent. Your employees are your company's most valuable asset, make sure that you invest in them!
