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.
Yet, for some reason, there are still many companies that fail to invest in their staff's progress.
According to ClearCompany, 68% of employees say that training and development are the most important part of a businesses policy to them.
What's more, around 74% of employees don't feel as though they're reaching their full potential.
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 reasons why you can't afford to neglect employee education.
It Boosts Employee 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 However, as the world and your industry evolve, it's easy for skills to become a little outdated.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.
According to the Huffington Post, companies that invest in training opportunities can earn up to 24% higher profit margins. That's because their teams know how to accomplish the most work in the shortest amount of time.
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 attract new talent to your team. Employees like to see that their bosses are invested in helping them to progress in their careers.
On the other hand, failing to educate your team members shows that you're not interested in helping them to achieve their goals.
According to studies, around 40% of employees with limited access to training will leave the company within the first year. 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.
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 & 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're unlikely to feel happy in their positions. At the same time, poorly trained employees are more likely to struggle with complex tasks because they don't have the right skills or knowledge to succeed.
It's problems like disengagement and low employee satisfaction that leads 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.
Disengaged team members tend to do the bare minimum because they're not deeply committed to your company, or helping your business achieve its goals. On the other hand, regular training leads to less stress and boredom.
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 that human error will lead to significant problems in your team.
Employee education ensures that you can teach your teams everything they need to know about 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.
Unfortunately, it's not likely that you can eliminate every single mistake you or your employees might make. Therefore, it's important to educate your employees about what to do should something go wrong for whatever reason.
Training helps your employees understand what steps to take and who to talk to to get the business up and running again in no time.
It Builds Great 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!
