Many companies expend enormous time and resources on picking the right candidates. Then, they leave those candidates languishing after they’re hired. Yes, choosing the right candidate matters, but so does employee development. After all, why pick high performers if you don’t plan to maximize the value of their work ethic? It goes deeper than that, though. Let’s jump in and look at some of the reasons why you should develop your employees’ talents.
1. Maintain High Retention
A little more than half of all employees are currently seeking or keeping an eye out for a new job. Some employees are looking for a better paycheck and believe, often correctly, that they can command a higher salary somewhere else. Others want a chance at promotion, which is often unavailable at the present company. Offering training or professional development won’t solve either of those wants, but it will often keep employees in place for an extra year or two. Why? That additional training will let them command a higher salary or better position when they do make the leap.
Takeaway: Nothing will keep employees with you forever, but you can retain employees longer than you do now.
2. Higher Engagement, Higher Productivity
Engaged employees are happier and more productive employees. Unfortunately, only 30% of US employees feel engaged. One of the biggest causes of that widespread disengagement is pure boredom. Good employees master their position, and the challenge disappears from their work. Offering employees the opportunity to learn new skills or expand on their existing skills, reintroduces challenges into their working lives. It’s a clear path to better employee engagement.
Takeaway: Bored employees grow disengaged. Training offers them new challenges.
3. Investment for Future Leadership
You can’t promote everyone, but you can pick out a few high flyers and groom them for leadership roles. Part of this is offering them leadership and management training opportunities. This can be an informal process through mentorship, formal classroom learning, or a combination of the two. This approach lets you put someone into leadership who won’t face the grueling challenges of learning company policies, politics, and culture. They’ll acclimate faster and become productive far quicker than any external candidate.
Takeaway: Training future leaders from your ranks lets you sidestep many of the onboarding challenges faced by external candidates.
Ignoring your employees’ professional development is a short path to poor retention, disengagement, and losing future leaders. Providing training opportunities, on the other hand, can help you keep high performers at your company and engaged for longer. It also lets you groom future leaders and avoid common problems associated with external hires. Always remember that training can come from informal sources like mentorship, as well as from classroom settings.
Offering employees training opportunities but low on good candidates? Let Timpl connect you with candidates who are eager to make the most of their time with your company.
