The key to retaining employees is to train and develop them effectively. A survey conducted by HR Review (2019) found that more than 50% of UK employees would look for work elsewhere because of a lack of training opportunities. Employers are therefore encouraged not to overlook the opportunity to improve their current crop of employees, because it is likely that if your employees feel part of the team and aren’t stagnating, they will be less willing to leave your organisation and will be more committed to helping you grow.
There are certain types of training that every organisation must provide. For instance, onboarding training and compliance training. Employers should implement training techniques which will help increase employees’ ability to progress in current roles, whether that be instructor-led training, demonstration by colleagues or e-learning.
When it comes to training, there is no one size fits all approach. What works for one employee may not work for another. Therefore, it may be wise to offer different training courses or seminars depending on the skillset of each employee. Perhaps it should go beyond this and examine their approach to learning? Do they learn visually? PowerPoint Presentations with plenty of images and diagrams would work well if this were the case. However, others might do better with a more written approach, so a textbook-based learning session would suffice. Training that is the right type and delivered at the right time is an important component of creating a positive work environment.
Training and development should not be reserved for large organisations with formal HR departments and established career progression routes. Arguably, it is even more important for small businesses to embrace the development of their employees. In the first instance, the recruitment and induction process are costly. As well as the financial cost of advertising a role, there is a huge resource cost in terms of interviewing and training new recruits. If the role is available because someone left, then that also means a dip in productivity during the time the role is vacant.
Secondly, the goal for every organisation is to have high performing teams. There is a phrase widely used in coaching and attributed to Gary Busey, using the word ‘TEAM’ as an acronym for Together Everyone Achieves More. There is nothing as spectacular as being part of a team working in harmony, harnessing multiple different skills, knowledge and experiences to creatively solve problems and develop solutions no individual could achieve.