A UK corporate training provider, Active Training, has recently conducted a study about the investment in corporate training across Europe. The data shows that in the UK, the expenditure on CVT courses per employee is one of the lowest in the European Union. The United Kingdom ranked 22nd, even though a higher percentage of the country’s companies provide training to their workers.
High employee turnover rate is natural for any business, and in today’s day and age, people rarely stay with the same company for a couple of years. Therefore, employers should be doing everything in their power to keep employees on their payroll for longer periods of time.
Investing in advanced professional development of employees is not just beneficial for company’s morale, but it is also beneficial for a corporation’s bottom line. While investing in continuing training may seem expensive, it is nothing compared to the cost of losing an employee. So let us take a look at some important tips regarding how you can invest in an on-going training that keeps the employees satisfied and reduces costly turnover.
Outsourcing the training
One of the biggest complaints regarding employee training that you will ever hear from managers is that they do not have the time or resources for additional training outside of new hire training.
It is actually cheaper and more practical to outsource training. For example, your IT sector can easily be outsourced. There are a number of websites offering video-based courses that can be taken remotely at any given time and most companies are absolutely neglecting this fact. In the contemporary world of business, even the well-known celebrity investors recognize the importance of employee training. That is why Timothy Sykes, for example, regularly publishes educational materials such as this guide to help his followers manage their workload. Everything you have to do is connect your workers to these programs.
Encouraging a culture of learning
If you want employee training to be the backbone of your business, then it needs to become a second nature for your workers. You need to establish a culture of learning wherein workers are encouraged to identify imperfections and request instruction. Your workers should never feel ashamed for needing help.
Employees must have a leadership that will set an example, so developing a culture of learning must start at the top of your organisation. If the high-level executives are regularly investing in seminars and courses, then entry-level workers are more likely to feel secure doing the same.
Mentorship programs
Developing a mentorship program is one of the best ways to encourage constant training and reinforce the idea that your company is committed to a culture of learning. Mentorship programs look differently at all companies, but often pair up low-level employees with executives and department heads.
The purpose of mentorship programs is to keep your personnel engaged, to make everyone aware of where knowledge gaps exist and how they can be closed to establish a more even playing field.
These programs will not only help your new employees, but also your senior staff. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Vocational Behaviour discovered that the people that have the opportunity to serve as mentors to their colleagues experience greater job satisfaction and a higher commitment to their employers.
Develop workers from start to finish
One problem found in bigger corporations is a lack of continuity in worker training. Companies often overload their new recruits with lots of training, and then offer them no learning opportunities after a year or so. However, this is a big mistake.
If your company wants to maintain a culture of learning, you need to plan every detail of your training from start to finish. There should never be a point in an employee’s tenure where you can tell him, “You know everything you can”.
Investing in the education of your workers is just another investment in your own business. Don’t take it lightly.
