Competitive salaries, good benefits packages and flexibility are musts in today’s still-tight job market. However, prioritizing employee training and development has some added advantages that truly make it a win-win proposition. From increased job satisfaction and loyalty to better retention rates—and ultimately better employees—continued learning benefits everyone involved. If you’re not already emphasizing employee development, here are some reasons why it’s time to change your focus.

1. It helps attract and retain great talent.

By training your staff through employee training and development programs, you might overcome major hurdles in the hiring process and employee retention that many organizations experience. For one, employees regard training initiatives as one way of improving their craft based on the premise that such programs are educational in nature.

By sponsoring sales training programs, for instance, your salespeople can gain new or additional insights to improve their selling skills as well as develop their self-confidence and positive attitude at work. Needless to say, your reputation as a good employer that cares about your employees’ professional development will also be enhanced. As you help your employees further their skills and achieve personal growth, you create a goldmine of talent, which can give your business a market edge over competitors.

2. It can identify which employees are worthy of promotion.

Trained employees can form your pool of candidates for possible future promotion as they have developed certain levels of competence over time. With this pool, you need not look further for qualified candidates for managerial or executive posts in your organization, which, incidentally, are best given to someone promoted from within the organization.

As these employees are highly familiar with the business operations and organizational structure, you can be certain that they understand and are capable of complementing the goals of the company.

3. It can increase employee engagement.

Training your employees is a great way to take their minds off of their usual work for a short period of time. Employees who are not given opportunities to participate in other productive activities, such as those offered in training courses, are prone to become less motivated and happy at work.

Your employees are also likely to be more loyal to your company, seeing that you are willing to expend resources for their attendance at conferences or enrollment in specialized courses. The bottom line is that your willingness to invest in your employees’ training and development will likewise inspire them to invest as much hard work as they can into your business.

4. It translates into savings for the company.

The most effective employee training and development programs are those that empower employees to become multiskilled, extending their skill set across various areas.

It then becomes easier for companies to tap employees with diversified skills in performing a variety of functions or in transitioning them to other related roles within the organization. In return, employees feel empowered having expanded roles and responsibilities in your organization.

5. It helps shape the future of your organization.

As you make employee training and development programs part of your organization, you will find the need to update your offerings continuously. You have to think ahead about how you should be designing or refining your training methods over the long term to make them more responsive to employees’ needs, interests and goals.

You also need to make sure that your organization is abreast with the current trends in the industry and make an assessment whether they warrant a change in your business culture or brand of customer service, in which case, a new training framework should also be put in place.

Employee training and development should be a shared responsibility among employees, managers and the organization. When planned and implemented correctly and consistently, the benefits gained can spur considerable growth at both individual and organizational levels.

Whether you promote learning through training courses, mentorship programs or education reimbursement, when employees are growing and developing, your business can follow suit

Don't know where to start with your employee training and development? Learn how to Identify Training Needs For Your Organisation and then you can checkout our training catalogue to help you get started