Every organisation has to adopt new technologies and practices to remain competitive and achieve growth. However, the current pace of change and the rapid emergence of new technologies is making it increasingly difficult for companies to find staff with specialised skills.
You don’t always need to look outside your organisation for the skills you feel it is lacking. Often, the talent you seek already exists within your workforce, just waiting to be discovered and developed.
Henry Ford allegedly once said, “The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.” This statement, regardless of who its real author may be, will never lose its relevance.
One of the top priorities of employees in the workforce is continuing their personal growth. Because of this, a great way to develop and retain talent from your employees is to invest in their skillsets. This can be done by providing education programs for your team or by offering financial support for a degree that will help your organisation. When you invest in your employees by providing or supporting upskilling opportunities, they feel more valued, and in turn, grow more loyal to the company.
What’s more, when your employees learn new skills, they put themselves in a position to take the next step on their career path with the company. This offers benefits for both the employee and the organisation; The employee gets a desired promotion, and the organisation is able to fill an essential position with an experienced worker who has plenty of institutional knowledge and can hit the ground running.
Here are five main reasons why employers should invest more in employee development, and thus, company success:
- Attracts and Retains Great Employees
- Boosts Employer Reputation
- Increases Innovation, Performance and productivity
- Allows Upward Mobility for Promotable Employees
- Encourages Looking Forward
Accenture PLC, the global management, consulting, and professional services firm carried out a study on the financial return from Training & Development programmes delivered within companies. It showed that for every pound invested in training, companies received an average of £4.53 in return. Put differently, Training and Development typically delivered around 350% ROI.
Upskilling, or reskilling, is a smaller investment than hiring and training a new worker. As you reskill your employees, you create a more well-rounded, cross-trained workforce, and increase your team’s efficiency.
As Zig Ziglar once said, “You don’t build a business – you build people – and then people build the business.”
Author
Shwetha Gowda, Dassault Systèmes Training Coordinator at Majenta.
For more information about how you can upskill your workforce and the benefits of doing so, please get in touch with Shwetha on 02476308030 or send an email to hello@majentasolutions.com.