Why You Should Invest in Your Employees’ Development

Your employees are the backbone of your organisation. It is their work that allows your business to flourish. Ultimately, the more productive your employees are, the faster your business grows. So when you invest in your employees, you are also investing in the growth of your company. Investing in your employees’ development can help you:

1. decrease staff turnover;
2. improve productivity; 
3. attract top talent;  
4. promote internally; and
5. foster a culture of learning.

In this article, we set out five reasons why employee development is one of the key investments you can make as a business owner.

1. Employee Retention

Firstly, high performing employees enjoy being challenged. In turn they will seek opportunities for personal growth in their day-to-day work. By providing training and development opportunities, you are able to provide these challenges and chances for growth within your organisation. This will give your employees the skills they need to take on new tasks, thereby ensuring they stay engaged at work.

For example, providing your employees with leadership training gives them the key skills to take on management tasks. By giving employees the support they need to tackle new challenges successfully, you are encouraging personal growth. Employees that can pursue growth within your business are less likely to look elsewhere for new challenges, therefore lowering your turnover rate.

2. Improved Productivity

Investing in courses that address both hard and soft skills will likely help your employees work more effectively. The better your employees are at their job, the better the chance that your business will succeed.

For example, providing a training course that teaches your employees how to use Google Docs will help them effectively tackle projects that require collaboration on documents. Additionally, investing in a public speaking course can improve the quality of your employee presentations, therefore allowing employees to represent your business at a higher standard externally. Training can help your employees refine and expand upon their skills, in turn improving their productivity at work.

3. Attracts Top Talent

High performing employees want to work for companies that provide opportunities for growth. Training can give them the support they need to take on challenging work and excel in an organisation. Your current employees are the brand ambassadors for your company’s culture. By investing in them, you are showing the world that you value the development of your employees.

For example, Zynga provides graduates with a mentoring program focused on innovation and career growth. This demonstrates the value that they place on their employees’ development, subsequently making them an attractive workplace for top graduates.

4. Promote Internally

Training allows your employees to excel at their jobs. In turn, this allows you to give them positions with greater responsibility. Having high performing employees that you can promote means that you do not have to recruit managers externally. Similarly, it helps you retain high performing employees as they can see opportunities for growth within your company.

Further, by investing in your employees, you are subsequently investing in the future leaders of your business. For example, Deloitte’s Partner Pipeline Program exposes high performing directors to the executives of the company, training them to succeed in an executive position. 

5. A Culture of Constant Learning

Placing value on training and development creates a culture of constant learning and improvement within your organisation. In a time of rapid change and innovation, staying up to date with new market trends is vital. Providing opportunities for your employees to learn fosters original thinking.

For example, paying for employees to attend seminars on blockchain or artificial intelligence can help them realise the possibilities of technology and encourages them to think about ways they can leverage it at work. Most importantly, investing in your employees creates a culture of learning that: 

• drives innovation;
• encourages constant self-improvement; and 
• above all, helps your business stay ahead of competitors.

Key Takeaways

The work your employees do is essential to driving your business towards success. So to give your business the best chance at this, it is vital that you invest in your employees’ development and training. Ultimately, placing value on investing in your employees will in turn improve:

• employee retention rates;
• workplace productivity;
• your ability to attract top talent;
• your ability to promote internally; and
• a culture of constant learning.

If you have any questions, contact LegalVision’s employment lawyers on 1300 544 755 or fill out the form on this page.