Throughout the business world, there’s an unfortunate misconception that providing training and other such learning opportunities to employees is a waste of time, as it will inevitably enable them to up and leave their current organization in favor of a better position elsewhere.
However, according to data collected by the American Management Association, this is absolutely not true. In fact, providing opportunities for your employees to learn and grow on a professional and personal level can actually incentivize them to stick around for a long time to come.
(This, of course, comes with a few caveats, which we’ll discuss momentarily.)
In this article, we’ll go over three main reasons that focusing on professional development can effectively keep your best employees onboard over time.
How Does Training Help Me Keep My Employees?
1. Show That You Value Your Employees
Of all the resources at your disposal throughout your company, your employees are by far the most valuable.
Unfortunately, it’s fair to say that “on the ground” employees often feel rather dispensable and replaceable from time to time. Too often, the sentiment is something along the lines of, “So what if I leave? They’ll have me replaced within the week.”
Providing numerous opportunities for your employees to grow, then, is a great way to stave off this line of thinking. By focusing on their professional growth, you prove to them that you see each employee’s true potential, and are willing to invest the resources needed to bring this potential out in them.
(On the other hand, not providing these opportunities essentially communicates to your employees that you don’t think they can handle the additional trainings, and that you don’t think they’re made to do much more with their professional careers.)
2. Maintain Alignment With Your Employees
We talk a lot on our blog about the importance of aligning your organization’s mission with that of your employees.
While this is certainly important to do during the hiring process, it’s also important to maintain this alignment over time, as well. For one, it’s always a good idea to “refresh” this notion in your employee’s eyes. More importantly, it’s almost certain that both your company’s and your employees’ missions will change over time; that said, you’ll want to communicate with your employees over time to be sure you remain aligned.
With this in mind, the trainings and educational opportunities you provide your employees need to actually matter – both to your organization and your team members. Too often, organizations use trainings as a sort of “lip service,” or – even worse – force their employees to take training courses they don’t care about in the slightest.
When providing opportunities for professional growth to your employees, it’s essential that you tie what they’ll learn back to their professional duties – as well as to their professional goals, as well.
3. Use Training as a Pathway for Your Employees
Speaking of professional goals, you absolutely must provide opportunities for your employees to do something with whatever skills, abilities, or knowledge they learn during the trainings you put on.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons many companies feel like their employees will up and leave once they receive certain trainings. It makes sense, really: if the organization trains them just for the sake of training, but doesn’t provide opportunities for them to move up the ladder…why shouldn’t these individuals look elsewhere?
That being said, while you definitely want to train your employees with the intention of having them provide more value to your company, you absolutely need to compensate them for the extra effort they put in to provide this value. If they’re willing to invest in their own professional growth for the good of the company, you need to be willing to help them achieve their own personal goals, as well.
What’s the Panther Professional difference?
Experience, creativity, and flexibility.
Whether you’re looking for professional staffing solutions or your next career opportunity, The Panther Group gives you options. For the past 25 years, we’ve put talented people and leading organizations together. For short-term staff or inspiring leaders, our hands-on approach to staffing ensures consistent results. Contact us today to find the talent you need to grow.