If your company’s first inclination is to look outside its own four walls to fill vacancies, it could be playing a losing game. Talent is in high demand. Any Economics 101 course worth its weight in salt teaches that high demand reduces supply which increases price. That’s true in the employment world too and it’s a big reason to strongly consider developing an employee training program.
The money you’re spending to recruit might be better spent on training an employee who already works for you to keep them growing and engaged. According to Harvard Business Review, there is a huge gap between what employers are willing to spend to recruit and hire and what they are willing to spend to train and retain. In fact, it costs an employer an average of $3,000 less per year to continue training an existing employee than it would to hire a new one. No matter where you are in your current employee training plan, now is a great time to either get something started or re-evaluate what you’ve already been doing. It may be a good time to ask yourself: Is your current plan showing results? If not, follow these tips for creating an employee training program that gets results.
Have Everyone Get Involved You most likely have employees who are equipped with skills that would be helpful to other members of your team. Schedule internal Lunch and Learn events or recurrent training days for these employees to teach within the company.
Fix What’s Broken Look for areas that need attention and provide specific training to correct common issues within your company.
Benchmark Your Success This also means benchmarking your company against your competitors. In which areas do you need to see growth to stay competitive? Use this data to help tailor your training investments.
Integrate Employee Training from the Start After creating an internal employee training program, it’s best to incorporate it into the job description and monitor the results from day one. If training is part of the job from the beginning, it makes it easier to implement and discuss as part of your annual employee reviews.
Seek Outside Professional Development Opportunities Encourage your employees to participate in relevant outside learning opportunities through local events and organizations.
Ask for Employee Feedback Find out what training worked for them and what didn’t. This may be a great opportunity to introduce an employee survey.
Make Adjustments Evaluate and evolve training often and as needed. Your business is consistently changing, make sure your training isn’t getting left behind.
Why Employee Training is Important
There are many reasons why you should prioritize employee training within your business. One of the most prominent is safety. Aside from safety, did you know that providing training to your employees can also help you improve efficiency and production? In a study of more than 3,100 U.S. workplaces, the National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce (EQW) found that, on average, a 10 percent increase in workforce education level led to an 8.6 percent gain in total productivity. Beyond the mentioned reasons, implementing a solid training program could help you retain your current employees. A low employee turnover rate leads to an improved employer brand image, which could also help you attract new qualified talent going forward. For instance, according to a recent Gallup poll, 59% of millennials; 44% of Gen Xers and 41% of baby boomers say opportunities to learn and grow are extremely important to them when applying for a job.
Build a More Qualified Workforce
Partnering with a forward-thinking staffing agency, like Qualified Staffing, can help you build a teachable workforce. Contact us today to learn more.